PBF Energy posts third consecutive quarterly loss on falling margins

(Reuters) - PBF Energy posted a third consecutive quarterly loss on Thursday, as the U.S. refiner took a hit from a decline in margins.

The Parsippany, New Jersey-based refiner said fourth-quarter loss attributable to the company was $289.3 million, or $2.54 per share, bigger than its loss of $48.4 million, or $0.40 per share, a year earlier.

Global refining margins have dropped through the last year in the face of weaker economic activity and several new refineries starting up in Asia and Africa.

U.S. refinery margins, measured by the 3-2-1 crack spread, averaged $16.66 in the October-December quarter, a nearly 25% fall from a year earlier.

Bigger rivals Phillips 66, Valero Energy and Marathon Petroleum all took a hit to their quarterly results on weak margins. However, they had still managed to perform better than analysts' expectations.

PBF Energy said its consolidated gross refining margin was a loss of $3.89 per barrel in the fourth quarter, compared with $1.04 per barrel it earned a year earlier.

"Global refining markets remain structurally tight, and capacity rationalization and demand growth are expected to exceed new refinery additions," PBF Energy's CEO Matt Lucey said.

The company said its crude oil and feedstocks throughput in the reported quarter fell to 862,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), from 878,200 bpd a year earlier.

PBF Energy also said the scope and timing of a planned turnaround activity at Martinez refinery in California may be impacted after a fire occurred at the location on February 1.

"At this time, the cost of repairs and the length of the shutdown arising from the incident cannot be reasonably estimated," the company said.

On an adjusted basis, the company lost $2.82 per share in the fourth quarter, compared with estimates of a loss of $2.81 according to data compiled by LSEG.

(Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)

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