Closer Look at PBF Energy Inc (PBF)’s Earnings

The company anticipates that it will spend between $250 million and $275 million on capital expenditures in 2013. Plans include a heavy crude unloading rack at the Delaware City refinery, and a 45-day turnaround of the coker at the same facility.

PBF laid out exactly what it results it expects to generate in the first quarter, which will make it easier to evaluate the company’s performance this spring. Mid-continent throughput is expected to average 120,000 to 130,000 barrels per day. East Coast operations should be closer to 330,000 to 340,000 per day.

For the year, PBF is expecting operating cost per barrel in the neighborhood of $4.20 to $4.30. A fire at its Toledo refinery forced the facility to run at reduced rates, which will affect the company’s operating cost per barrel in the first quarter. This is to be expected in this industry. For example, operating costs for the full year 2012 were $4.36 per barrel, but $4.74 per barrel in the fourth quarter because of reduced rates run before and after Hurricane Sandy.

Foolish takeaway
We have watched refiners enjoy a sustained period of profitability, thanks not only to cheap domestic crudes, but cheap natural gas that allows these intense facilities to run on inexpensive energy, as is the case with PBF, but not the case with, say, refineries in the Caribbean or Western Europe. Going forward, PBF Energy’s efforts to secure cheaper feedstock via rail, combined with its locations on the energy-thirsty East Coast, should bode well for an increasingly profitable future.

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The article A Closer Look at PBF Energy’s Earnings originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Aimee Duffy.

Fool contributor Aimee Duffy has no position in any stocks mentioned.  Click here to see her holdings and a short bio. If you have the energy, follow her on Twitter, where she goes by @TMFDuffy.The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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