Viva Energy’s convenience sales have declined by 2.5 per cent versus the same period last year, its latest operating update revealed.
Despite the decline in sales, gross margin improved by 1.5 percentage points to 33.7 per cent due to continued growth in all categories excluding tobacco.
Looking at fuel sales, the group delivered comparatively strong sales during Q32023, up 4.7 per cent over the same period last year and in line with sales achieved in the previous quarter this year, which Viva stated was a good performance in the context of rising oil prices and generally softer seasonal and economic conditions that persisted through the quarter.
Crude oil intake was down 39 per cent to 6.1 million barrels due to extended maintenance. Viva stated that processing capability has been progressively restored, with focus now on normalising operations and reducing shipping and operating costs which were elevated through the maintenance period.
Despite this, an unaudited third quarter refining EBITDA is expected to be a loss of approximately $20 million.
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