Whooo!
Don't know about all refiners but WNR is down 15-17%. Glad I dumped it, though it was at a loss.
And here is the reason why, from Barron's:
Western Refining’s Not-So-Fine Results
With Nymex crude oil futures up a fraction of a percent today at $124.34, it’s maybe no surprise that $674-million (market cap) crude oil refiner Western Refining (WNR) this morning reported it swung to a much deeper loss than analysts had projected for its first quarter ending March 31, as soaring crude prices cut the company’s gross profit almost by two thirds. Finished output for Western, such as gasoline, failed to rise sufficiently to offset the jump in crude, and gross margin, measured on a per barrel basis, fell to $4.55 from $12.07 a year earlier. The resulting 60-cent-a-share loss was well below the 9-cent-loss the Street had projected, and a big change from a profit of 93-cents a year ago. Although management called the gross margin plummet “very disappointing,” the company sees hope for some improvement in gasoline profit margin as general refinery throughput in the industry contracts just as the summer driving season approaches, perhaps the value of Western’s finished goods. Western shares in the pre-market were down almost 22% to $7.80. You know who’s not too happy, aside from Western’s bosses? Caris & Co. analysts, who just yesterday upgraded the stock from “Below Average” to “Average”, and today downgraded to “Sell”! |
