Australian fuel refiner Ampol reported a net profit of A$1.36 billion for the six months ended June 30, rebounding from a A$25.3 million loss in the same period a year earlier. The company’s EBITDA on a replacement cost operating profit basis surged 152% to A$1.64 billion, reflecting exceptional refining margins amid heightened geopolitical tensions.
Refining margins at Ampol’s Lytton refinery in Queensland reached US$28.26 per barrel, a sharp increase from near break-even levels in the prior-year period. The company attributed the improvement to supply disruptions tied to the conflict between the United States and Iran, which constrained global refining capacity and elevated product spreads. Volatility in crude and product markets persisted through late June, driven by disruptions in oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz and Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, delays in Russian diesel exports, and refined product inventories near historic lows ahead of the Northern Hemisphere winter.
Convenience retail profit rose 12%, though retail fuel margins in Australia and New Zealand declined as higher acquisition costs outpaced the pass-through to pump prices. Ampol declared an interim dividend of 185 cents per share, fully franked, more than four times the amount distributed in the prior-year period.
