Tesoro Corp. the San Antonio-based company refiner, reported higher third-quarter income as refinery margins improved, including those at its Hawai'i operation.

The company reported net income jumped to $259 million, or $1.86 a share. That was five times the profit in the third-quarter a year earlier, when it had a profit of $47 million, or 34 cents a share.

The company said it improved upon its crude oil purchasing and product pricing, though it said throughput at its seven refineries fell by 32,000 barrels per day because of lower demand. It said gross margins of $16.69 a barrel during the quarter were 85 percent better than a year earlier because of its profit improvement initiatives and the benefit of declining crude price.

Revenue surged to $8.7 billion from $5.9 billion a year earlier, reflecting higher gasoline and petroleum product prices.

The profit this year was helped by a 29 cents after-tax gain because of an accounting change, along with a charge of six cents a share after-tax for the write-down and other expenses associated with its closing of some its gasoline stations.