Refiner Phillips 66 profit beats as chemicals unit outperforms

(Reuters) - U.S. oil refiner Phillips 66 posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday, helped by a 28 percent rise in net income from its chemicals unit. The refiner's chemicals joint venture with Chevron Corp had fully recovered from Hurricane Harvey and contributed to first-quarter earnings, Chief Executive Greg Garland said. The U.S. shale boom has opened enormous reservoirs of cheap natural gas, a raw material for chemicals and plastics. The chemicals unit's net income rose to $232 million from $181 million. However, earnings from the company's main refining business fell nearly 65 percent to $91 million. Excluding one-time items, the company earned $1.04 per share, beating analysts' average estimate of 89 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Rival Valero Energy Corp reported quarterly results on Thursday and attributed its better-than-expected profit to higher refining margins. (Reporting by Taenaz Shakir in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)