Speedway Net Income Drops by $3 Million

FINDLAY, Ohio -- Marathon Petroleum Corp.'s (MPC) Speedway LLC division saw its earnings dip by nearly 4 percent during its fiscal second quarter, compared to the same period in 2010. Speedway earned a net income of $80 million for the three-month period ended June 30. That compares to an $83 million profit during its 2010 second quarter.

Same-store merchandise sales were flat during the second quarter of 2011, compared to last year. Same-store gasoline sales also dropped 5 percent compared to the previous year.

Despite the declines, Gary R. Heminger, Marathon Petroleum's president and CEO, said the company was "optimistic about growth prospects for our Speedway retail operations."

Although Speedway's earnings dipped, Marathon Petroleum as a whole saw net earnings almost double for its second quarter. The independent refiner, marketer and transportation company that was spun off from Marathon Oil Corp. on June 30 reported net earnings of $802 million for its fiscal second quarter, almost doubling the $405 million profit the company achieved in 2010's second quarter.

"The spinoff of MPC from Marathon Oil Corp. was the right transaction at the right time," said Heminger. "As an independent company with a strong financial position and financing in place, our objective is to selectively pursue new growth opportunities while exercising financial discipline to maintain our investment grade profile."

Marathon Petroleum's revenues increased by nearly one-third. The company took in revenues of $20.79 billion for its latest quarter, compared to $15.82 billion during the same period last year.

Marathon Petroleum's earnings and revenues easily beat analysts' forecasts. Wall Street expected the company to earn about $690 million on $17.7 billion in revenues.