News: ALD UPDATE 1-Australia's Ampol posts profit surge on Lytton Refinery turnaround

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Oct 26 (Reuters) - Australia's Ampol Ltd (ALD) on Tuesday reported a near 71% rise in third-quarter profit on a turnaround at its Lytton Refinery operations and said it expected fuel volumes to recover as COVID-19 restrictions on travel ease.

The country's biggest fuel supplier said net profit for the three months ended Sept. 30 rose to A$41 million ($30.60 million) on a replacement cost basis, which excludes the impact of inventory and foreign exchange changes.

The Lytton operations posted earnings of A$22 million, compared with a loss of A$82 million a year earlier.

Chief Executive Officer Matt Halliday said the recent government moves to ease COVID-19 curbs in New South Wales and Victoria were expected to aid fuel demand, while reopening of international travel would be positive for the jet fuel market.

The company's convenience retail earnings more than halved to A$33 mln in the quarter due to lockdowns.

Halliday added that a recent rise in crude and refined product prices would boost the profitability of the Lytton operations, but would temper retail margins in the short term.

Rival Viva Energy (VEA) had also reported a jump in quarterly group volumes on Monday, but said surging oil prices were weighing on its margins.