Posted at 12:35 p.m., Friday, June 29, 2001

Tesoro expects lower profit

Tesoro Petroleum Corp., which owns oil refineries in Hawai'i and other western states, said second-quarter profit may be as much as 19 percent below analysts' estimates because gasoline prices fell in June.

Per-share profit will be 65 cents to 75 cents, San Antonio-based Tesoro said in a statement, compared with the average estimate of 80 cents from six analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial. Estimates ranged from 75 cents to 91 cents. Tesoro earned 35 cents a year earlier.