The BusinessWeek 50 Ranking
18
Sunoco
Sunoco is well-positioned to profit from the high margins that refineries are tapping in the current cycle. Philadelphia-based Sunoco increased capacity last year, buying a 150,000 barrel-per-day refinery as well as 385 filling stations to sell its gasoline. And while some other refiners unloaded chemical operations that had turned stagnant, Sunoco stood pat. It rode out the drought and now stands to profit from a cyclical recovery. Profits have nearly doubled in the past 12 months. The company also reduced debt and interest expense by replacing high-rate debt with new, lower-rate bonds.
Company Info
| 2004 Rank | 85 |
| STOCK INFO | SUN |
| Market Value | $7.2 BILLION |
| Total Return | (1-yr.) 63.7%
(3-yr.) 175.5% |
| 2004 sales | $23.2 BILLION |
| Sales Growth | (1-yr.) 45%
(3-yr.) 23.9% |
| Net income | $615 MILLION |
| Net Income Growth | (1-yr.) 97%
(3-yr.) 11.3% |
| Net Margin* | 2.7% |
| Return on Equity* | 38.0% |
| Industry | ENERGY |
| CORPORATE WEB SITE | |
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*Trailing 12 months
Company data as of 2/28/05 provided by Standard & Poor's Compustat
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Company Snapshot
Sunoco, Inc. operates as a holding company that engages principally in petroleum refining and marketing, and chemical manufacturing in the United States. Its activities are classified into five segments: Refining and Supply, Retail Marketing, Chemicals, Logistics, and Coke. Refining and Supply segment manufactures and sells petroleum products and commodity petrochemicals. Petroleum products mainly include gasoline; middle distillates, including jet fuel, heating oil, and diesel fuel; and residual fuel oil. Commodity petrochemicals include olefins and its derivatives, such as ethylene, ethylene oxide polymers and refinery-grade propylene, as well as aromatics and its derivatives, such as benzene, cyclohexane, toluene and xylene. This segment also manufactures and sells lubricant products. Retail Marketing segment sells gasoline and middle distillates, and operates convenience stores. As of December 31, 2003, the company operated through 4,800 outlets. Chemicals segment manufactures, distributes, and markets phenol and related products, polypropylene, and cumene. Logistics segment operates refined product and crude oil pipelines and terminals, and conducts crude oil acquisition and marketing activities. Coke segment makes blast furnace coke and produces metallurgical coal. The petroleum refining and marketing, chemicals and logistics operations are conducted principally in the eastern half of the United States. Coke making operations are conducted in Virginia and Indiana. Sunoco was incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1971. The company’s principal executive offices are located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
No. of Employees
14,200
Data provided by 
