Frontier Oil Posts Loss on Charges

NEW YORK -- Oil refiner Frontier Oil (FTO Quote) said Thursday it lost $97.4 million in the fourth quarter on some hefty one-time charges, including an inventory writedown.

The company's loss amounted to 94 cents per share for the last three months of 2008 compared with a profit of $43.4 million, or 41 cents per share, a year earlier.

The 2008 results include an after-tax inventory loss of $157.4 million, or $1.52 per share, and an after-tax hedging gain of $90.8 million, or 88 cents per share.

Revenue rose slightly to $1.35 billion from $1.32 billion a year earlier. ...