July 23 (Reuters) - Australia's top fuel retailer Ampol Ltd (ALD.AX) , opens new tab on Wednesday forecast weaker half-year earnings as sea-freight conditions impacted its supply chain, and reported a 1.1% drop in second-quarter refining margins at its Lytton refinery.

The company expects first-half earnings before interest and tax on a replacement cost basis (RCOP EBIT) to be A$400 million ($262.04 million), compared with A$502.1 million a year earlier.

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The second-quarter refining margin at its Lytton refinery in Queensland, one of the company's key assets, decreased to $8.71 per barrel in the second quarter, down from $8.81 last year.

Over the year, operational disruptions such as planned maintenance and loss of production days due to Cyclone Alfred, coupled with weak refining margins in Singapore, have weighed on refining margins and the output levels of the Queensland refinery.

However, the refinery margin increased from the prior quarter's $6.07 per barrel, due to improved product crack - the difference between the price of crude oil and the prices of the refined petroleum products - in the later part of the year.

The Sydney-based firm reported second-quarter total sales volume of 6,304 million liters (ML), down 4.7% from a year earlier.

Its Lytton refinery output for the second quarter was 1,406 ML, compared to 1,420 ML logged a year earlier.

The company is slated to report its half-year financial results on August 18.

($1 = 1.5265 Australian dollars)

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ampol-forecasts-lower-half-year-earnings-supply-chain-impacts-2025-07-22/