Latest news with #MatthewHalliday
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ampol Ltd (CTXAY) (H1 2025) Earnings Call Highlights: Navigating Challenges with Strategic Growth
ICopP EET: $649 million. ICop EBIT: $404 million. Iop NAt excluding significant items: $180 million. Statutory Loss: $25 million. Total Fuel Sales: 12.45 billion liters. Net Borrowings: Approximately $2.8 billion. Leverage: 2.8 times adjusted net debt to EBITDA. Ordinary Dividend: $0.40 per share. Retail Fuel Sales Reduction: 4.6% decrease. Premium Fuel Sales Penetration: Increased by 1.6 percentage points to 56.4%. Capital Expenditure: Approximately $201 million. Net Interest: $120 million, including $19 million capitalized interest. Convenience Retail Earnings Growth: Driven by favorable fuel mix and productivity savings. Refining Margin: US $7.44 per barrel, down 28% compared to the first half last year. Operating Cash Flows: $355 million. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 10 Warning Signs with CTXAY. Release Date: August 18, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Positive Points Ampol Ltd (CTXAY) reported a strong safety performance, achieving near historical best levels in personal safety within convenience retail. The company declared an ordinary dividend of $0.40 per share, representing a payout ratio of around 53% of Rop NAT excluding significant items. Ampol Ltd (CTXAY) demonstrated growth in retail fuel and convenience, reducing exposure to cyclical commodity-linked earnings. The acquisition of Z Energy has materially enhanced the resilience of Ampol Ltd's value chain and earnings base. The company is on track to deliver $50 million in productivity savings for the full year 2025, with $30 million already achieved in the first half. Negative Points Ampol Ltd (CTXAY) reported a statutory loss of $25 million, driven by movements in the historic cost of crude and product inventory. Total fuel sales volumes were down, largely due to reduced spot sales in the international business amid an unpredictable geopolitical environment. Convenience retail fuel sales decreased by 4.6%, primarily in base grade petrol volumes. The refinery at Lytton faced challenges with refining margins at the lower end of the cycle and impacts from Cyclone Alfred. The company did not receive payments under the Fuel Security Services Payment (FSSP) regime during the period, despite declining refiner margins. Q & A Highlights Q: Can you provide an update on the fuel support payment reindexation discussions and the expected outcome? A: Matthew Halliday, CEO, stated that Ampol is engaged with the government on the review, focusing on the mechanism's inability to account for escalating costs. An outcome is expected in the second half of the year. Q: What volume and margin impact are expected from the LQ TI in 2025, and what are the expectations for 2026? A: Greg Barnes, CFO, explained that the Alke unit and CDU work will result in a loss of about 130 to 150 million liters, equating to a $15 to $20 million opportunity cost. For 2026, a TNI on the cracker is expected to impact 300 million liters. Q: Could you explain the virtual credit card mentioned in the net borrowings slide and why it's excluded from borrowings? A: Greg Barnes, CFO, clarified that the virtual credit card is a lending facility with attractive rates, treated as a payable for statutory accounting purposes. It helps fund tax payments efficiently. Q: How is the tobacco sales decline affecting shop margins, and what impact does the Metcash supply agreement have? A: Kate Thomson, Executive GM - Retail Australia, noted that over half of the margin improvement is due to tobacco mix, with the rest from better buying through the Metcash agreement and QSR margin improvements. Q: What are the expectations for FNI International's recovery, and what factors are crucial beyond oil and freight price movements? A: Greg Barnes, CFO, emphasized that freight is a significant factor as it drives market opportunities. The company expects to grow the business strategically over time, leveraging infrastructure and market conditions. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ampol Ltd (CTXAF) (Q4 2024) Earnings Call Highlights: Navigating Challenges and Strategic Growth
RCOP EBITDA: $1.2 billion. RCOP EBIT: $715 million. RCOP NPAT: $235 million, excluding significant items. Net Borrowings: Approximately $2.8 billion, excluding leases. Leverage: 2.6 times on a last 12 months basis. Total Sales Volumes: 27.27 billion liters, down about 2% year on year. Dividend: Ordinary final dividend of $0.05 per share, total dividend for 2024 at $0.65 per share, payout ratio of 66% of NPAT. Capital Expenditure: Approximately $640 million. Australian Wholesale Volumes: Down 0.5% due to exit from low margin jet sales to defense. Convenience Retail EBIT Growth: 6% annual compounded growth since 2020. Shop Sales Ex-Tobacco: Up 2%. Tobacco Sales: Fell by around 14%. Premium Fuel Sales Mix: Increased by 1.7 percentage points to 55.4%. Statutory NPAT: $122.5 million. Inventory Losses: $137 million after tax. F&I Australia Additional Costs: Estimated at $25 million due to unplanned refinery events. Refinery Production: Reduced to 5.3 billion liters, with high-value product at 4.8 billion liters. Refinery Outage Impact: Estimated at $140 million. 2025 Net Capex Expectation: $600 million. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with CTXAF. Release Date: February 23, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Ampol Ltd (CTXAF) reported a strong safety performance in 2024, achieving near-best personal safety levels across the business. The company delivered a consistent growth in convenience retail, with a 6% earnings CAGR since 2020 in Australian fuel and convenience. Ampol Ltd (CTXAF) successfully acquired Z Energy, which has performed well despite a challenging economic environment. The company declared a final dividend of $0.05 per share, reflecting confidence in the outlook and commitment to shareholder returns. Ampol Ltd (CTXAF) is progressing with strategic projects, including the ultra-low sulfur fuels project, expected to enhance product offerings and margins. The global refining market challenges in 2024 significantly impacted Ampol Ltd (CTXAF)'s commodity-linked business segments. Operational disruptions at the Lytton refinery led to disappointing performance and financial losses. Total sales volumes decreased by 2% year-on-year, with a notable decline in international business opportunities. Leverage increased to 2.6 times, above the target range, due to higher capital expenditure and dividend payouts. The rollout of EV charging infrastructure has been slower than expected, impacting the pace of energy transition initiatives. Q: How sustainable is Ampol's convenience retail performance given the tough macro environment and illicit tobacco issues? A: Matthew Halliday, CEO, stated that despite the intense consumer pressure in 2024, Ampol saw growth in sales excluding tobacco, which was down mid-teens. Tobacco is a low-margin part of the business and is becoming less material. Ampol is confident in its strategy and execution capability, expecting continued earnings growth. New Zealand's sales excluding tobacco grew 3.5% last year, indicating positive trends. Higher input prices have affected fuel pricing, but normal conditions are observed otherwise. Q: How confident is Ampol in Lytton's ability to operate reliably before the TNI next year? A: Matthew Halliday, CEO, expressed confidence in Lytton's reliability, citing investments and proactive maintenance steps taken in 2024, such as the FCC pit stop. The asset is well-invested, and the team is strong, setting up for a clearer year in 2025. Q: What is the outlook for Ampol's international F&I business, given the significant drop in EBIT from 2023 to 2024? A: Matthew Halliday, CEO, explained that the international F&I business relies on market volatility and less well-supplied markets. Ampol expects markets to tighten in 2025, supported by geopolitical factors and sanctions, which should restore volatility and earnings recovery after a soft 2024. Q: How should investors think about Ampol's dividend policy in 2025, given leverage settings and capital allocation framework? A: Matthew Halliday, CEO, emphasized Ampol's commitment to its capital allocation framework and the importance of dividends to shareholders. While the second half of 2024 saw a lower dividend, Ampol expects to return to the target leverage range and maintain dividends within the 50-70% payout range over time. Q: Can you provide more details on the $50 million cost-out program and its impact on different segments? A: Matthew Halliday, CEO, highlighted three key areas for cost savings: demurrage, technology, data, and digital savings, and energy solutions. These savings will impact refining, F&I Australia, and the group as a whole, with a backend-loaded realization due to the nature of the activities. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
