MADRID (AP) — Spanish energy company Repsol says its third-quarter profit fell 17.3 percent compared with the same period last year following the sale of its liquefied natural gas assets, which had contributed to the quarter’s profits in 2013.

Repsol S.A. said Thursday that profit for July through September was 319 million euros ($398 million), down from 386 million euros for the same period in 2013.

Excluding one-off items, Repsol’s adjusted profit rose 41 percent to 415 million euros in the quarter, chiefly due to higher refining margins and a lower cost of servicing debt as the LNG asset sale to Royal Dutch Shell plc helped bring down the total debt by 72 percent.

The refining margin at the end of the quarter was $3.9 a barrel, up from $2.6 a barrel a year earlier.

Repsol shares rose 1.1 percent to 17.4 euros in Madrid.

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