Updated: HF Sinclair hits record quarterly profit driven by refinery boom and appoints new CEO

Supplementary charts, background information, and conference call details

Katha Kalia

Reuters, October 28 - HF Sinclair DINO.N on Wednesday reported record quarterly profit, largely due to strong refining margins driving earnings growth, and named Steve Ledbetter as its next Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1.

As the refiner prepares to spin off its (link) lubricants and specialty products business into a standalone publicly traded company, Ledbetter will take over the company. The move aims to further focus on the core business amid a refining boom.

Earlier this year, former CEO Timothy Go left (link) after taking nearly three months of voluntary leave during an internal review of the company's information disclosure processes.

With Middle East conflicts driving tighter global supplies and surging refining margins, U.S. refiners have benefited greatly from a surge in fuel export demand.

HF Sinclair’s refining segment’s adjusted core profit rose more than fourfold to $2.43 billion, while adjusted refining gross margin climbed to $54.22 per barrel from $19.16 a year earlier.

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Peers Valero Energy (link) VLO.N and Phillips 66 (link) PSX.N also reported strong quarterly profits as U.S. refiners benefited from supply disruptions that tightened the global fuel market.

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HF Sinclair executives said that refinery capacity constraints in the Middle East persist and are unlikely to be alleviated in the short term, adding that global refining outages are expected to not fully recover before 2028.

They also pointed out that ship-to-ship oil transfers in the Gulf of Oman and crude stored on tankers have elevated freight costs, and since a large amount of refining capacity remains offline, shortages are expected to persist.

The refiner added that its entire system can process over 100,000 barrels per day of heavy crude, and expects future growth to be primarily driven by internal investment rather than large-scale acquisitions.

According to data compiled by LSEG, the Dallas, Texas-based company reported adjusted earnings per share of $11.75 for the three months ending September 30, versus the average analyst estimate of $7.65.

(To facilitate non-native English speakers, Reuters has automated the translation of this report into several other languages. Because machine translation may be inaccurate or lack necessary context, Reuters does not guarantee the accuracy of this automated translation and provides it solely for readers’ convenience. Reuters accepts no liability for any damage or loss caused by the use of the automated translation service.)