PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF) reported third-quarter 2019 earnings of 66 cents a share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 59 cents but deteriorating from the year-ago quarter’s $1.13.
Total revenues declined to $6,430.5 million from $7,646.3 million in the prior-year quarter. The top line, however, beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5,919 million.
The better-than-expected results were aided by higher refining margin per barrel in the Gulf Coast, and lower costs and expenses. The positives were partially offset by lower crude oil and feedstock throughput volumes. Decline in realized refining margin per barrel of throughput in the East Coast, West Coast and Mid-Continent added to concerns.
Segmental Performance
Operating income at the Refining segment was $169.8 million, substantially down from $321.3 million a year ago.
The company generated profit of $44.4 million from the Logistics segment, which shows an improvement from the prior-year quarter’s $37.6 million.
Costs & Expenses
Total costs and expenses in the reported quarter were $6,278.6 million, significantly lower than $7,360 million in the year-ago period. Cost of sales — which includes operating expenses, cost of products and others — amounted to $6,244.4 million, lower than the year-ago level of $7,331.3 million.
Throughput Volumes
In the quarter under review, crude oil and feedstocks throughput volumes were 850.9 thousand barrels per day (BPD), down from 888.4 thousand BPD in the year-earlier quarter.
The East Coast, Mid-Continent, Gulf Coast and West Coast regions accounted for roughly 42%, 17.8%, 20.9% and 19.3%, respectively, of the total oil and feedstock throughput volume.
Throughput Margins
Company-wide gross refining margin per barrel of throughput — excluding special items — was recorded at $8.87, lower than the year-earlier quarter’s $9.25.
Refining margin per barrel of throughput was $7.32 in the East Coast, down from $7.52 in the year-earlier quarter. Realized refining margin was $8.30 per barrel in the Gulf Coast, up from $7.21 in the prior-year quarter. The metric was $9.77 per barrel in the West Coast, down from $10.28 a year ago. Also, the metric was $12.24 a barrel in the Mid-Continent, lower than $14.11 a year ago.
Refinery operating expense per barrel of throughput was $5.26, higher than $5.01 in the year-ago quarter.
Capital Expenditure & Balance Sheet
Through the third quarter, the company spent $117.2 million capital on refining operations and $8 million on logistics businesses.
At the end of the quarter, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $536.3 million, along with total debt of $2,064.3 million, with the debt-to-capitalization ratio being 36.6%.
Guidance
PBF Energy projects total daily throughput volumes for the December quarter of 2019 from the East Coast in the range of 340,000-360,000 barrels, while the same from the Mid-Continent is anticipated in the band of 150,000-160,000 barrels. Total daily throughput volumes at the Gulf Coast are expected in the range of 170,000-180,000 barrels, while the same from the West Coast is anticipated within 170,000-180,000 barrels.
Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider
Currently, PBF Energy has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked players in the energy space are Noble Midstream Partners LP (NYSE:NBLX) , CNX Resources Corporation (NYSE:CNX) , and Contango Oil & Gas Company (NYSE:MCF) . All these companies carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Noble Midstream’s 2019 sales are expected to rise 32.4% year over year.
CNX Resources’ 2019 earnings per share have witnessed three upward movements and no downward revision in the past 30 days.
Contango Oil & Gas’ bottom line for the current year is expected to rise around 87% year over year.
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