Sale of Tesoro’s Hawaii operation contributes to Q3 profit

The operations and sale of Tesoro Corp.’s Hawaii refinery in September accounted for nearly one-third of the its net income in the third quarter, the company reported today.

San Antonio-based Tesoro earned $99 million, or 72 cents a share in the July-through-September period, down from $273 million, or $1.92 a share in the third quarter of 2012.

The third quarter results include net income from discontinued operations of $35 million, or 26 cents a share related to the operations and sale of its Hawaii business. The company reported net income from continuing operations of $64 million, or 46 cents a share in the third quarter.

Tesoro on Sept. 25 completed the sale of its Hawaii assets to Hawaii Pacific Energy LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Par Petroleum Corporation. The sales price was $539 million, which was partially offset by about $215 million of accounts payable for inventory and other working capital, according to the earnings report.

Tesoro’s shares closed up 48 cents, or 1 percent, at $47.44 on the New York Stock Exchange.