Swiss-based oil refiner Petroplus doubled revenues and posted third-quarter net profit of $68 million, beating forecasts despite soaring oil prices.

Petroplus said fundamentals suggest a strong refining market in 2008, although high crude oil prices continue to hit refining profitability.
Petroplus had warned of the potential impact of rising oil prices on the cost of fuel consumed. Refineries use a small percentage of the crude they process to power their operations, so higher crude costs can eat into margins.
“The refining industry was, in general, negatively impacted during the third quarter by the very volatile and high global crude oil market pricing,” Petroplus president Robert Lavinia said in a statement.
Repairs at the company's Coryton refinery in Britain would be completed in the fourth quarter after a fire, Petroplus said. The refinery was running at almost half its usual level and it would take up to a month to resume full operations.
The group’s insurance should cover the cost of repairs though not the interuption to business, said Lavinia.
“Operating results were slightly better than expected but our full-year 2007 estimates are likely to come down due to adjustments on Coryton throughput for the fourth quarter,” said analyst Fabian Baumann.