Ampol shares drop over miss in refining margins
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More news: Shares in Ampol were down 2.7% to $35 in early trading on the ASX despite the fuel refiner and retailer flagging record earnings for 2023. Investors were more focused on the underperformance in its main refining business, with both refining margins and volumes at its Lytton refinery coming in lower than market expectations.
Ampol flags record full-year earnings
The news: Fuel refiner and retailer Ampol expects full-year earnings for 2023 to be slightly ahead of its previous record earnings in 2022.
The numbers: The company said December quarter margins at its Lytton refinery averaged USD10.52 a barrel, down from USD11.76 a year ago, while refinery volumes were also lower at 1,428 million litres compared to 1,580 million litres previously.
The context: However, growth in earnings from non-refining divisions offset the reduction in refinery earnings, it said. Non-refining earnings included a consistently strong performance in its Australian Convenience Retail business as well as performance improvements and synergies within the New Zealand-based Z Energy. The fuels & infrastructure unit also performed strongly, while realised gains in trading and shipping during the third quarter would also underpin the second half result, Ampol said. The company will report full year results on 19 February.
The source: ASX announcement
