By Ross Kelly
SYDNEY--Caltex Australia Ltd. (CTX.AU) on Monday booked a fall
in annual profit after its refining business was hit by slimmer
regional margins and a lower Australian dollar.
The country's biggest refiner and fuel marketer said net profit
on a replacement cost basis, which excludes the value of its
inventories, slipped 28% to 332 million Australian dollars (US$298
million). The figure is close to the midpoint of company guidance
delivered in December of A$320 million-A$340 million.
Australian refiners are suffering from lower margins as much
larger facilities in places like India and China flood the region
with cheap fuel. Caltex is converting its Kurnell refinery in
Sydney into a fuel import terminal by the end of 2014. It's other
refinery, Lytton in Brisbane, will stay open.
Operating losses at the company's refining business of A$171
million were driven by lower regional margins and a fall in the
value of the Australian dollar, which can increase Caltex's input
costs.
Operating earnings in the company's marketing business rose 4%
to A$764 million, as demand for fuel from Australian motorists and
businesses remained reasonably buoyant as the economy continued to
grow.
Write to Ross Kelly at ross.kelly@wsj.com
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