* Valero CEO says Q4 margins strong
* Shares rise 1.8 percent
* Q3 EPS $0.51 v Street $0.48
* Hiking 2011 capex
* CEO sees better margins in 2011 (Adds byline, analyst comment, updates share price)
By Anna Driver
HOUSTON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Valero Energy Corp
Demand for distillates like diesel fuel has improved along with the economy. The difference in price between higher-grade and lower-grade crude oils has also widened, boosting margins for refiners like Valero which process the less expensive crude.
"The fourth quarter is off to a good start as margins have been strong for this time of year and discounts remain favorable," Valero CEO Bill Klesse said on Tuesday in a statement.
Klesse maintained his positive view when speaking to analysts on the company's conference call, saying he expected margins to improve in 2011 as the economy recovers and exports increase. [ID:nWEN1814]
As winter nears, stockpiles of distillates in the United States and in Europe have been falling, supporting the company's margins, Klesse said.
Valero's refining margins in markets including the Gulf Coast and the central United States were above expectations, but hefty inventories of products like gasoline are a worry, said Roger Read, analyst at investment bank Natixis Bleichroeder.
"Relative to expectations, they did a little better than expected across all facets," Read said. "We are a little nervous about where inventories are now, though."
Valero has little maintenance-related downtime planned for its plants in the fourth quarter. By contrast, Valero has a busy maintenance schedule in the spring. [ID:nWEN1799]
Next year, Valero said it plans to spend $2.6 billion, up from $2.3 billion this year.
Valero, based in San Antonio, had a third-quarter profit of $292 million, or 51 cents per share, compared with a loss of $343 million or 61 cents per share a year earlier.
Wall Street analysts on average had expected a profit of 48 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Operating revenue rose 20 percent to $22.2 billion in the third quarter.
Valero, which is shedding money-losing assets like its Paulsboro, New Jersey, refinery, also said it continues to look at refinery assets that will change its geographic footprint. The company's largest market is the U.S. Gulf Coast, where it has eight plants in Texas and Louisiana.
The company is actively shopping for refining assets in western Europe and the United Kingdom, and a deal could include multiple properties, CEO Klesse said on the conference call. [ID:nWEN1821]
Shares of Valero were rose 32 cents to $18.09 in early afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Additional reporting by Erwin Seba in Houston; editing by Dave Zimmerman and Gunna Dickson)