By Ross Kelly
SYDNEY--Caltex Australia Ltd. (CTX.AU) said fist-half profit
fell after sharp Australian dollar declines boosted the cost of key
imports, and fuel sales suffered from production outages at a
Brisbane refinery and damage to a Sydney pipeline.
Australia's biggest oil refiner, half-owned by Chevron Corp.
(CVX), said net profit on a replacement cost-of-sales basis--which
excludes the value of its inventories--dropped to 171 million
Australian dollars (US$154 million). The figure was within the
company's guidance range of A$160 million to A$175 million.
A steep fall in the value of the Australian dollar boosted the
cost of U.S. dollar payables such as crude oil, said Caltex, which
held its interim dividend steady at 17 cents a share.
Profit on a historical cost basis, which includes the value of
inventories, rose by 17% to A$195 million, the company said.
Write to Ross Kelly at ross.kelly@wsj.com
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