Refiner and marketer Caltex Australia reported a 11pc rise in group fuel sales volumes to 4.9bn litres (388,600 b/d) in January-March from a year earlier, with all of the increase coming from its international business as Australian sales dropped by 4pc to 3.88bn l (268,000 b/d) over the quarter.
The decline in Australian sales volumes was entirely because of a 25pc fall in jet fuel volumes during the period following travel restrictions imposed by governments to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, Caltex said. No data were provided for jet fuel volumes.
Following the implementation of government restrictions, Caltex has observed nationwide gasoline and diesel demand reductions towards the upper end of the ranges of 30-50pc for gasoline and 10-30pc for diesel when compared with 2019 volumes, the firm said.
Caltex also has operations in New Zealand and the Philippines.
Caltex separately said that Canadian convenience store and retail fuel group Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT) has decided not to proceed with its A$35.25/share ($22.40/share) offer for Caltex because of the high level of economic uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
ACT has said that it seeks to re-engage with Caltex about a future transaction once there is sufficient clarity as to the global outlook, although there is no certainty that ACT will ultimately do so, Caltex said.
Caltex operates the 109,000 b/d Lytton refinery at Brisbane in Queensland, which incurred a loss before interest and tax of A$18mn in the January-March quarter from a A$5mn profit during the same period a year earlier, it said.
The refinery loss was because of the impact of lower Singapore refining margins and the knock-on impact on landed crude premium from the imposition of the International Maritime Organization's 2020 0.5pc sulphur cap on marine fuels, Caltex said.
Caltex last week reported a sharp fall in refinery margins at Lytton from last year.
Caltex's group profit on a replacement cost metric fell to A$80mn in January-March from A$94mn in the same period a year earlier.
"Market conditions prior to the emergence of Covid-19 saw reduced earnings from gasoline product flows for the Australian system, with the relative strengthening of the gasoline spot market. This, combined with lower convenience retail and reseller gasoline volumes, further impacted earnings," Caltex said.
Caltex gave no breakdown of volume sales by product, but if the percentage changes in sales were applied to the national market, it would imply that Australia's petrol sales could be up to 50pc lower from the average of 313,000 b/d in the January-March quarter of 2019, diesel sales down by up to 30pc from the average of 491,000 b/d in the first three months of 2019 and jet fuel sales lower by 25pc from the average of 161,000 b/d in the first quarter of last year. This would collectively amount to a national decline of 344,000 b/d or 33pc below the average of 1.05mn b/d during the January-March quarter of last year.
