It's possible that the battery is new but that counter was not reset. It all depends on the location of that counter (in the battery or in the device firmware) and if the company doing the "refurbish" resets that counter.
Was the phone FACTORY refurbished? Some sites will sell "refurbished" devices but they're really just devices that have been cleaned up, checked over, possibly the battery replaced and packaged with a charger to re-sell.