Oct 19 (Reuters) – Australia’s Ampol on Monday cut its fourth-quarter output forecast for higher-value products at its Lytton refinery after bringing forward maintenance work, overshadowing a surge in third-quarter refining margins and sending its shares lower.
The country’s top fuel retailer said an inspection of Lytton’s Fluidised Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCCU) identified the need for additional maintenance work, delaying the unit’s restart to mid-November.
The maintenance work is expected to cut fourth-quarter output of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel by 150 million litres from the previous forecast.
Shares of the company fell as much as 7% to A$40.00, marking their lowest level since August 24. The stock was among the top losers on the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which was up 0.3%.
Total group sales volume was 6,245 million litres in the third quarter, up from 6,028 million litres a year earlier.
Refining performance continued to benefit from elevated regional margins, partly offset by higher landed crude premiums and planned maintenance, Ampol said.
Double-digit growth in the international segment helped offset weaker sales in Australia and New Zealand.
Ampol said its Lytton refining margin more than doubled to $23.92 per barrel in the third quarter from $10.64 a year earlier, supported by supply disruptions linked to the Middle East conflict.
The company said the disruptions remained a net positive for its integrated supply chain.
The convenience retail segment, excluding EG Australia and U-GO sites, reported higher headline shop sales than a year earlier.
Ampol said third-quarter group replacement cost operating profit EBIT rose from the average quarterly level in the second half of the previous year, reflecting the strength of its integrated supply chain and favourable operating conditions.
(Reporting by Keshav Singh Chundawat and Subhalakshmi Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Cynthia Osterman, Edmund Klamann and Subhranshu Sahu)
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