Fuel retailer Ampol's Lytton output slumps on maintenance and weaker margins
Rewrites throughout with further details
Oct 15 (Reuters) -Australia's top fuel retailer, Ampol ALD.AX reported a plunge in the third-quarter output from its Lytton refinery in Queensland on Tuesday reflecting planned maintenance activities and weaker finished and intermediate product cracks.
Refinery margin at Lytton came in at $1.48 per barrel, a 92% drop compared to $19.69 per barrel a year ago.
Shares of the fuel retailer dropped as much as 5% to A$27.68 in early trade while the broader benchmark index .AXJO was up 0.6%.
The company's refinery production was 916 million litres for the third quarter, lower than the 1.57 billion litres produced in the same period last year.
However, Ampol recorded total group sales of 6.52 billion liters for the quarter, a 5.7% drop compared to last year, driven by strong volumes in its convenience retail, New Zealand, and fuels and infrastructure operations in Australia.
"Convenience Retail continued the strong first half performance, benefiting from favourable market conditions which translated to improved fuel margins and sales volumes, particularly in base grades," Ampol said in a trading update.
Ampol's Lytton refinery will operate at a reduced rate as the company will effect repairs to the regenerator across November.
The refinery is expected to produce around 350 million litres of high-value product during this time without disrupting customer supply.
The fuel supplier also announced an initial cost reduction of A$50 million ($33.62 million) to be delivered in 2025, adding that it is also pursuing other opportunities to boost productivity and simplify its business operations.
Reporting by John Biju and Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid
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