Higher costs take toll on Marathon Petroleum's 2Q earnings

8/1/2013
BLADE STAFF
Marathon Petroleum Corp. in Findlay.
Marathon Petroleum Corp. in Findlay.

FINDLAY — Marathon Petroleum Corp.'s second quarter earnings fell 27 percent as higher costs hurt northwestern Ohio's largest publicly traded company.

The refining company said today it earned $593 million in the quarter, or $1.83 per share. Last year, Marathon posted a profit of $813 million, or $2.38 per share.

Overall revenues for the quarter were $25.7 billion, up 27 percent from last year.

"Our second-quarter earnings reflect a strong operating performance by our seven refineries despite some challenging market conditions," President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Heminger said in a statement. "Our upgraded Detroit refinery and our recently acquired Galveston Bay refinery continue to operate well, and our Speedway and Pipeline Transportation segments both had excellent quarters financially."

The company on Wednesday announced a 20 percent hike in its quarterly dividend to 42 cents per share. 

Shortly after 10 a.m., Marathon Petroleum stock was selling for $74.50 a share, up $1.17 or 1.6 percent from Wednesday's close.