By Nicole Jao
(Reuters) -U.S. refiner PBF Energy plans to save around $200 million in operating costs and expenditures by the end of 2025 through efforts including energy reduction and improving the efficiency of refinery turnarounds, executives said on Thursday.
“Our team has been developing a business improvement initiative across our refining footprint,” PBF CEO Matt Lucey told analysts on a conference call. “We have identified opportunities across our system, both in operating costs and in capital expenditures.”
The cost savings would be achieved through energy-reduction efforts as well as improving the efficiency of turnaround work and capital projects, executives said.
Earlier on Thursday, the Parsippany, New Jersey-based refiner posted a bigger-than-expected loss for the third quarter, due in part to weak refining margins across the industry.
PBF shares were down 2.3% at $28.16 at midday on Thursday.
On an adjusted basis, PBF lost $1.50 per share in the quarter, compared with estimates of a loss of $1.41 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Profitability of refiners around the world has dropped due to soft consumer and industrial demand, especially in China.
Bigger rivals Phillips 66 and Valero Energy posted drops in quarterly earnings, dented by weak margins, but still managed to beat analysts’ estimates.
PBF said its gross refining margin per barrel of throughput excluding special items stood at $6.79 in the quarter, a decline of 69.4% from last year.
“PBF’s financial results for the quarter reflect the broader macro headwinds brought about by weaker-than-expected global demand and higher-than-anticipated refinery utilization,” Lucey said in a statement.
For the fourth quarter, PBF expects its refineries to run between low- to mid-80%-range capacity.
The refiner is conducting its last major turnaround at the Chalmette refinery in Louisiana and expects the work to be finished in early November.
(Reporting by Nicole Jao in New York; Additional reporting by Arunima Kumar in BengaluruEditing by Vijay Kishore and Matthew Lewis)
