(Oil Price) – PBF Energy (NYSE: PBF) on Thursday reported a loss for the fourth quarter amid falling refining margins, booking widening losses for the third consecutive quarter.
PBF Energy said that its adjusted fully converted net loss for the fourth quarter of 2024, excluding special items, was $324.5 million, or a loss of $2.82 per share. The loss was in line with the analyst consensus estimate of a loss of $2.81 per share.
The loss at the New Jersey-based refiner was the third consecutive quarterly loss after losing $0.54 per share in Q2 and a $1.50 per share loss for Q3.
Since the fourth quarter of 2023, which was also in the red, PBF Energy has booked a profit only in the first quarter of 2024.
For the fourth quarter of 2024, PBF Energy’s consolidated gross margin per barrel of throughput was a loss of $3.89, compared to a profit of $1.04 for the same period of 2023.
Despite the loss, PBF Energy declared a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share.
Commenting on the Q4 and full-year 2024 performance, PBF Energy’s president and chief executive officer Matthew Lucey said,
“Global refining markets remain structurally tight, and capacity rationalization and demand growth are expected to exceed new refinery additions.”
All U.S. refiners had to operate in an environment of declining refining margins in 2024.
The biggest refiners, Marathon Petroleum, Valero Energy, and Phillips 66, continued to lose profitability due to falling refining margins. But they beat analyst estimates for the fourth quarter.
Marathon Petroleum Corp reported higher-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter of 2024, driven by stronger performance in the midstream and renewable diesel divisions.
Phillips 66 reported a loss for the fourth quarter, but this loss was smaller than analysts had forecast as the refiner’s renewable fuels division booked a profit in the last quarter of 2024.
Valero Energy reported higher-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter amid a widely anticipated slump in profits.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
