Higher margins lift Caltex’s Jan-Mar profit

OREANDA-NEWS. Australian marketer and refiner Caltex Australia posted a profit of A\$174mn (\$139mn) for the January-March quarter compared with A\$121mn a year earlier, amid a rise in refinery margins that offset a decline in sales volumes.

This includes an inventory gain of A\$12mn after tax compared with a A\$25mn inventory gain for the same quarter a year earlier.

Total sales volumes of transport fuels for January-March were 3.9bn litres (270,000 b/d) compared with 4.1bn l for the same period a year earlier. Higher sales of jet fuel, premium grade petrol and diesel were offset by the long-term decline in demand for unleaded petrol, Caltex said.

The average Caltex refinery margin was \$15.65/bl for January-March against \$8.78/bl the same period a year earlier. "The recent strength in refiner margins is not expected to persist given new supply additions in the region," Caltex said.

Sales from production totalled 1.5bn l for January-March against 2.7bn l the same period a year earlier. The decline reflected the closure of the 135,000 b/d Kurnell refinery in Sydney last year. Kurnell was converted into an import terminal. Caltex now operates only one refinery, the 109,000 b/d Lytton plant in Brisbane.