Jan 30 (Reuters) - Refiner Valero Energy beat

fourth-quarter profit estimates on Thursday, on lower costs and

higher renewable diesel margins.

The San Antonio, Texas-based refiner reported an adjusted

net income of 64 cents per share for the three months ended Dec.

31, beating analysts' average estimate of 7 cents, according to

data complied by LSEG.

U.S. refiners' profits had started to fall towards the end

of 2023 as new refining capacity came online across Asia and

Africa, and margins returned to normal levels after a period of

extraordinary gains following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

But Valero, the first among U.S. refiners to report

quarterly earnings, reported higher-than-expected profits on

steady throughput, lower costs, and higher income from its

renewable diesel segment.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini

Ganguli)