(Reuters) -U.S. refiner Marathon Petroleum on Tuesday missed Wall Street estimates for third-quarter adjusted profit, as higher refining turnaround costs offset stronger refining margins, sending its shares
more than 8% lower in premarket trading.
The company's results underscore the challenges facing U.S. refiners as elevated maintenance costs and inflation eat into earnings despite strong demand and wider margins.
Its quarterly refining turnaround costs, typically associated with periodic maintenance shutdowns, stood at $400 million, compared with $287 million from a year earlier.
The company expects these costs to rise to $420 million for the fourth quarter.
Its rivals Valero Energy, Phillips 66 and HF Sinclair all exceeded Wall Street estimates on a recovery in margins.
Refining and marketing (R&M) margin per barrel was up at $17.60 in the quarter, compared with $14.63 from a year earlier.
Marathon's refining and marketing segment reported a quarterly adjusted core profit of $1.76 billion, compared with $1.14 billion from a year earlier.
Its crude oil capacity utilization was at 95% in the quarter, compared with 94% from a year earlier, while its throughput volumes of 3.0 million barrels per day (mmbpd) were unchanged from last year.
The refiner expects total throughput volumes of 2.9 mmbpd in the fourth quarter.
On an adjusted basis, the company reported a profit of $3.01 per share for the three months ended September 30, compared with analysts' average estimate of $3.15 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The company also expects to spend $200 million this year on its Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas, with another $575 million in 2026 and 2027.
In October, Reuters reported that Marathon plans to complete repairs to the fire-damaged 64,000-bpd residual hydrotreater (RHU) at the Galveston refinery in mid-November.
(Reporting by Pooja Menon in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)
