Ampol sees weaker first-half earnings on supply woes; reports lower margins
- Second-quarter Lytton refinery margins dropped 1%
- Lytton refinery output down YoY
- Non-refining segments performed well in quarter
- Shares up as much as 4%
Australia's top fuel retailer Ampol Ltd 
ALD on Wednesday forecast weaker half-year earnings as sea-freight conditions impacted its supply chain, and reported a 1.1% drop in second-quarter refining margins at its Lytton refinery.
The company expects first-half earnings before interest and taxes on a replacement cost basis to be A$400 million ($262.04 million), compared with A$502.1 million a year earlier.
The second-quarter refining margin at its Lytton refinery in Queensland, one of the company's key assets, decreased to $8.71 per barrel, down from $8.81 last year.
Over the year, operational disruptions such as planned maintenance and loss of production days due to Cyclone Alfred, coupled with weak refining margins in Singapore, have weighed on refining margins and the output levels of the Queensland refinery.
However, Lytton's refinery margin increased from the prior quarter's $6.07 per barrel owing to improved product crack — the difference between the price of crude oil and the prices of the refined petroleum products — in the later part of the year.
The Sydney-based firm reported second-quarter total sales volume of 6,304 million liters (ML), down 4.7% from a year earlier.
Its Lytton refinery output for the second quarter was 1,406 ML, compared to 1,420 ML logged a year earlier.
The company's non-refining segments, convenience retail and New Zealand, performed well for the quarter.
Grady Wulff, a senior market analyst at Bell Direct, noted that Ampol's convenience retail operations have been a key earnings driver, with resilient performance in this segment and New Zealand helping to cushion the impact of weaker refining results in the first half.
Despite the mixed operational performance, shares gained ground, in tandem with the domestic energy sub-index 
XEJ, which was lifted by steadying oil prices.
Ampol stock rose as much as 4% to hit its highest since February 21.
The company is slated to report its half-year financial results on August 18.
($1 = 1.5265 Australian dollars)
