Ampol reports sequential jump in Lytton margins on better Singapore cracks (updated)

Ampol

29/10/2025 21:59

Rewrites paragraph 1, updates with further details and background throughout, adds shares in paragraph 2

Oct 30 (Reuters) - Australia's top fuel retailer Ampol ALD.AX recorded lower sales volume for the third quarter, reflecting softer performance at its domestic convenience retail business due to challenging weather conditions in August.

Shares in the company fell as much as 3.1% on Thursday, and marked their weakest intraday performance since late June. The stock hit its lowest level since October 23.

The performance at the Australian convenience retail segment was poor compared to last year, when the operation had benefited from favourable market conditions around declining input costs for fuel.

The states of New South Wales and Queensland faced prolonged inclement weather in August, negatively affecting sales volume before returning to expectations in September, when conditions started to normalise.

The company reported total third-quarter sales volume of 6,028 million litres, a 7.6% fall as compared to last year.

Its volumes across the international segment fell the most, which Ampol attributed to "timing and availability of opportunities during the period."

Ampol reported a 22.2% quarter-on-quarter increase in refining margins at its Lytton refinery, helped by improved operational performance and higher profit margins for producing fuels in Asia.

The company said its Lytton refinery margin increased to $10.64 per barrel in the third quarter, up from $8.71 in the previous quarter.

It attributed the rise in refining margins to strengthening of Singapore refined cracks as compared to the first half of the fiscal year.

Global refining margins have climbed since late September amid a tightening supply backdrop, driven by refinery disruptions and thin inventories, while newly announced EU restrictions on Russian crude and U.S. sanctions on Russian oil firms have added further pressure, the company added.

Ampol added that replacement-cost earnings before interest and tax for the three months had exceeded the first half's quarterly average due to stronger margins at the fuel and infrastructure business, excluding Lytton. This was further aided by better results at the refinery.

 (Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee and Anjali Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Alan Barona)

 ((Rishav.Chatterjee@thomsonreuters.com))