Refiner Valero Energy beat fourth-quarter profit and revenue estimates on Thursday, helped by lower costs and steady output.
Shares of the company rose 1.4% in premarket trading after the company also said profits doubled in its renewable diesel division and costs fell 10.2% from a year earlier.
Analysts also noted that the refining and renewable diesel segments performed better than they had expected.
"The refining outperformance was driven by a combination of higher throughput and margins," said analysts at Scotiabank, highlighting that this was despite a challenging margin environment during the quarter.
Fuel demand has slowed across the globe and weighed heavily on oil and fuel markets in 2024.
Valero's net income fell nearly 77% in the quarter to $281 million, or 88 cents per share, from a year earlier. Its refining margins also dropped 34.5%.
The company, however, posted steady throughput at 3 million barrels per day, which helped it report adjusted earnings of 64 cents per share, surpassing analysts' estimate of 7 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Revenue of $30.75 billion also beat expectations of $30.2 billion.
The company said it was progressing with its FCC Unit optimization project at the St. Charles Refinery that will enable it to increase the yield of high-value products.
The project is estimated to cost $230 million and is expected to be completed in 2026.
