Viva Energy has reportedly taken a $35 million hit to its earnings following rising oil prices.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the company made a statement to the ASX saying: “Challenging trading conditions in 2019, predominantly due to sharp increases in the oil price, have impacted fuel margins”.
“This has negatively impacted Viva Energy retail segment’s underlying earnings in the range of $30 million to $35 million through to the end of April 2019,” the statement said.
“Variability in retail margins is a typical feature of the retail fuel market, influenced by the competitive pricing cycle in major markets as oil prices and foreign exchange rates rise and fall”.
“Despite the current challenging trading conditions, Viva Energy is in the initial stages of implementing strategies to improve retail price competitiveness and remains focused on lifting sales volumes through the Alliance network [with Coles Express],” Viva said.