Oct 31 (Reuters) - PBF Energy ( PBF ) posted a

bigger-than-expected third-quarter loss on Thursday as the U.S.

refiner took a hit from weak fuel demand which shrunk refining

margins.

Globally, refiners have seen a drop in profitability due to

soft consumer and industrial demand, especially in China.

Bigger rivals Phillips 66 and Valero Energy ( VLO )

posted drops in quarterly earnings, dented by weak margins, but

still managed to beat analysts' estimates.

The company said its gross refining margin, excluding

special items, per barrel of throughput stood at $6.79 in the

quarter, a 69.4% drop from last year.

U.S. refiners are seeing their margins and profits normalize

from recent record highs, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine

in 2022.

"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," PBF

Energy's ( PBF ) CEO Matt Lucey said in a statement.

The company added it was conducting its last major

turnaround at the Chalmette refinery in Louisiana and expects

the work to be finished in November.

The company said its reported quarter's crude oil and

feedstocks throughput stood at 935,600 barrels of oil per day

(bpd), compared with the previous year's 939,700 bpd.

For the current quarter, it expects total throughput to be

between 840,000 bpd and 900,000 bpd.

PBF also announced a 10% increase in quarterly dividend to

$0.275 per share.

On an adjusted basis, the Parsippany, New Jersey-based

company lost $1.50 per share in the third quarter, compared with

estimates of a loss of $1.41 per share, according to data

compiled by LSEG.