The Financial Post reports in its Friday edition that less than 12 months after an activist investor critiqued its performance, fuel retailer Parkland has doubled its third-quarter profit and announced it will exceed its previously announced earnings guidance for 2023. A Canadian Press dispatch to the Post says that on a conference call with analysts Thursday, chief executive officer Bob Espey hailed the Calgary company's third-quarter financial results, which saw Parkland report net earnings of $230-million, up from $105-million in the same period of 2022. On an adjusted basis, Parkland earned $231-million, nearly five times its third-quarter 2022 adjusted earnings. Mr. Espey attributed the results to favourable market conditions and the company's efforts to optimize its operations. Last March, U.S.-based activist investor Engine Capital LP publicly urged the company to get rid of what it called non-core assets and become a pure-play fuel and convenience retailer. Engine called on Parkland to sell or spin off its Burnaby, B.C., refinery, a recommendation the company rejected following a review. That refinery provided adjusted earnings of $188-million, up more than 39 per cent from the prior year's quarter.