News: ALD UPDATE 1-Australian fuel retailer Ampol's Q1 output drops after steam outage, Red Sea...

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April 30 (Reuters) - Australian fuel retailer Ampol (ALD) reported a 7.3% drop in first-quarter output from its Lytton refinery in Queensland on Tuesday, citing a steam outage and delays due to the ongoing Red Sea crisis.

The firm posted refinery production of 1,381 million litres for the three months ended March 31, compared to 1,490 million litres recorded in the same quarter last year.

Houthi rebel attacks against commercial vessels travelling through the crucial Red Sea shipping channel, which began last year, have effectively disrupted global oil supplies.

Ampol, which is the country's largest fuel supplier and owns petrol stations across Australia, posted a first-quarter refinery margin of $11.80 per barrel from its Lytton operations, missing Jefferies' estimate of $13 per barrel.

The fall in margin could be attributed to reduced crack spreads and a decline in global crude prices amid geopolitical tensions that have led to supply disruption worries.

Ampol said its earnings before interest and tax on a replacement cost basis for its non-refining divisions for the March quarter was in line with the A$345.4 million ($226.79 million) it posted last year. The company did not disclose an RCOP EBIT number for the reported quarter.

Brokerage firm Jefferies had estimated an EBIT of A$311 million. ($1 = 1.5230 Australian dollars)