Hellenic Petroleum Q3 core profit up as sales offset lower refining margins

Hellenic Petroleum, Greece's biggest oil refiner, reported a 15 percent rise in third-quarter core profit on Thursday with stronger sales volumes more than offsetting lower refining margins.

Adjusted for oil inventory holding, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at 237 million euros ($271 million), up from 206 million euros in the same period a year earlier.

The figure beat analysts average forecast of 213.4 million euros in a recent Reuters poll.

Hellenic, which operates three refineries in Greece and exports more than half of its output, said refining sales volumes, thanks to high utilisation rates of its refineries, outweighed a 20 percent drop in benchmark refining margins and higher provisions for CO2 emissions rights.

Refining sales volumes rose 8 percent in July to September to 4 million tonnes.
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