Martin Midstream sinks on wider loss, withdrawn outlook amid soft demand for barge fuel transport

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Martin Midstream (NASDAQ:MMLP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MMLP]) slipped 10% in early trading on Thursday after reporting a wider quarterly loss and withdrawing its guidance, as weaker-than-expected lubricant results and a sharp decline in barge utilization weighed on performance.

Net loss per unit in the quarter widened to $0.21 from $0.08 in the year-ago period. Adjusted core earnings, meanwhile, dropped 23% to $19.3 million.

“In the Specialty Products segment, sales volumes in the grease business continued to lag expectations. While recent activity is showing early signs of improvement, muted sales make achieving our prior guidance for this business remote," the company said.

Results from the lubricants business were also slightly below expectations; however, Martin Midstream (NASDAQ:MMLP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MMLP]) expects performance to strengthen in the next quarter as the lubricants market adjusts to the exit of a large competitor in South Louisiana.

The sulfur services segment, on the other hand, faced modest headwinds in sales, as operations resumed following the annual planned turnarounds at the fertilizer plants. "We anticipate a return to full operations with improved results in the coming quarter.”

Conversely, the marine transportation business experienced a significant decline in demand for inland barge fuel transportation, which was unexpected entering the quarter.

"Barge utilization also declined significantly as refineries favored lighter crude slates, shifting transportation demand away from barges and into pipelines,” Bob Bondurant, president and chief executive officer of Martin Midstream GP, said [https://seekingalpha.com/pr/20267864-martin-midstream-partners-reports-third-quarter-2025-financial-results-declares-quarterly].

Given this challenging operating environment, the partnership pulled its 2025 guidance amid current demand softness impacting inland barge utilization.

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* Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Martin Midstream Partners LP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MMLP/ratings/quant-ratings]
* Dividend scorecard for Martin Midstream Partners LP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MMLP/dividends/scorecard]
* Financial information for Martin Midstream Partners LP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MMLP/income-statement]