Ampol shares drop after slide in full-year profit
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
More news: Shares in Ampol are down nearly 5% to $26.71 in early trading after the fuel refiner and retailer Ampol posted a 78% slide in full-year profit amid disruptions at its Lytton refinery and slashed its dividend.
UBS analysts noted the result was “in line” but flagged weaker-than-expected performance at Z Energy as an area for further inquiry. "ALD historically has good form on the consistency of its capital framework but a weaker 2H div payout (implying mid range payout for FY) will disappoint some. Despite the FCCU shutdown at the Lytton Refinery having been deferred to mid-26, we believe market expectations remain too high for Lytton EBITDA over 2025 and need to be reset lower," the analysts said in a note.
Ampol annual profit slumps on refinery disruptions
The news: Fuel refiner and retailer Ampol posted a 78% slide in full-year profit amid disruptions at its Lytton refinery.
The numbers: Statutory profit for the year to December slumped to $122.5 million, down from $549.1 million a year ago. Analysts had forecast the company would post a 60% fall in net profit to $221 million, according to Visible Alpha.
Replacement cost operating profit group earnings — management’s preferred measure of profitability — came in at $715.2 million, down 45% from a year ago and in line with the guidance pre-reported in January. It will pay a final dividend of 5 cents a share, down from 120 cents a share a year ago.
The context: CEO Matt Halliday called 2024 a year “challenging global refining and commodity markets” which impacted the Lytton refinery as well as trading and shipping operations. Lytton, which faced unplanned outages during the year, delivered a $42.3 million earnings loss. However, this was offset by higher earnings from the convenience retail business and steady performance at the New Zealand-based Z Energy. Fuels and infrastructure business earnings were also sharply lower.
The company said refining margins were below historical averages in January due to lagging crude premiums and short-term compression. However, convenience retail has begun the year solidly, it said.
The source: ASX
