Thank you very much and good morning everyone. My name's Matt Halliday.

I'm the Managing Director and CEO of Ampol, and welcome to our 2026 half-year results call. During the presentation, we'll be referring to the documents lodged with the ASX this morning, including our results presentation and supporting materials.

Before we begin, I'll draw your attention to the important notice on slide 2. As usual, today's presentation does include forward-looking statements and non-IFRS measures, and I encourage you to read the notice carefully.

I'm joined today by our Group CFO, Greg Barnes, who will take you through the financial results in more detail. After the prepared remarks, Greg and I will take your questions.

Also joining us on the call are members of the executive team who will support the Q&A. I'll start, as always, with safety.

Across the group, we had no Tier 1 or Tier 2 process safety incidents in the first half of '26, and none since July '25. That is an important outcome and reflects the continued embedding of our integrated operational risk management framework.

On personal safety, the picture is more mixed, with total recordable injury frequency rate increasing. However, we have also introduced a serious case frequency rate to better capture cases that result in more than a week away from work, including musculoskeletal and psychosocial matters.

This gives us a clearer view of where we need to focus. Turning now to the integrated platform on slide 5.

Ampol has built a leading Asia Pacific physical fuel optimization platform that leverages our infrastructure, logistics, and trading capabilities, and market intelligence to generate resilient earnings through the cycle. The first half of '26 really demonstrated the value of Ampol's integrated supply chain and trading capability.

While the market conditions were certainly exceptional, the result also reflected the strength of our supply position, our risk management capability, our customer relationships, and our ability to optimize product flows throughout the value chain. The important takeaway is that this capability has been built over many years.

It comes from investment in supply optimization, terminals, Lytton, risk management, and our retail networks. Therefore, the strength of the first-half result is the demonstration of our integrated platform working as intended, maintaining fuel security for customers and creating value for shareholders, especially when markets are tight and disrupted.

Turning to the performance overview on slide 6. Ampol delivered a very strong first-half result on an RCOP basis, with EBITDA of $1.64 billion, EBIT of $1.39 billion, and NPAT of $860 million.

Statutory NPAT was $1.36 billion, including inventory gains and significant items. The result reflects both favorable market conditions and the structural benefits of our integrated platform, with underlying performance improved across multiple segments.

Convenience Retail continued to grow, Commercial and Wholesale customer relationships were further strengthened, and our trading and shipping capability supported supply security and, therefore, earnings during a period of major market disruption. Turning now to the key group metrics.

Total sales volume was resilient at 12.3 billion liters and up ex-net sell. Net borrowings increased to $3.52 billion, principally reflecting the completion of the EG Australia acquisition on 30 June, including our decision to cash settle the scrip component of the consideration.

Even with that acquisition funding, leverage remained below our target range at around 1.8 times, supported by the very strong RCOP EBITDA outcome and inventory gain. That balance sheet strength, together with the cash generated in the half, underpins the board's decision to declare an interim dividend of 185 cents per share.

Now on slide 8. Given the important role that Ampol plays in the communities where we operate, a financially strong Ampol benefits all our stakeholders.

We were able to maintain uninterrupted supply to customers and dealers through wholesale and retail supply chains. This includes the UGo discount brand, which provided lower-cost fuel to customers during the peak of the crisis each and every day.

We had a clear focus on supply to the regions, with supply volume increasing by 30% in March. We have expanded our partnership with Rural Aid for 3 years, backing farming families and the regions more generally.

We played a key role in Australia and New Zealand in building additional national inventory levels with the support of the governments of both countries. I'm proud to say that our people worked safely and tirelessly in the midst of the crisis, showing tremendous commitment to keeping Australia and New Zealand moving.

I'll now hand over to Greg to take you through the detail of the group and segment financial performance.

Thank you, Matt. Good morning, everyone.

As Matt said, this was a very strong half. In fact, for the first half of 2026, our earnings exceeded any full-year result we've ever reported.

This reflects the extraordinary disruption that took place and our team's ability to navigate this and keep fuel flowing to our customers. I'll take you through the group-level results and then into the detail of each segment on subsequent slides.

If we turn to slide 10, you can see the detail behind group sales volumes. Overall, group sales volumes were up 1.5% at 12.3 billion liters for the half, once you look through the net sell volumes, which will move around from period to period.

Convenience Retail volumes increased 2.4%, supported by product availability and the continued expansion of UGo. Australian Wholesale volumes, excluding the net sell, also grew by 2.9%, reflecting the consistency of our supply chain in keeping fuel flowing during this disrupted period.

Z Energy volumes were lower, down 2.5%, as local market dynamics impacted demand and the ability to pass through higher fuel costs to customers. Looking at product mix, middle distillates continue to represent more than 70% of our transport fuel sales volumes.

Within this, jet was up more than 10% year-on-year, driven by growth in Australian and international markets. We go to slide 11.

It sets out our group's financial performance. RCOP EBITDA was $1.6 billion.

That's up 152% on the prior corresponding period. RCOP EBIT was $1.4 billion, up 245%.

As I mentioned earlier, we obviously benefited from very favorable market conditions, but we also executed very well throughout the value chain, and this is reflected in a high-quality and broad-based result. I'm going to step through each segment in a moment, but before doing so, if we look at RCOP NPAT, it was $857 million for the period, reflecting the strong underlying result.

Our effective tax rate was 30% on a higher earnings contribution from Australia, as well as some minor one-off adjustments. The underlying rate was about 28.5%.

Lower interest expense was a result of lower debt levels prior to the acquisition of EG, which took place on the 30th of June, and was net of $24 million of interest that was capitalized in relation to multi-year capital works. Statutory NPAT was $1.4 billion.

This includes inventory gains, reflecting rising product and crude costs over the 6-month period. Statutory NPAT also included significant items, including costs associated with the acquisition of EG.

If we turn to each business, slide 12 shows you the size and the breadth of the F&I EBIT result. The Lytton refinery had an extraordinary result.

Margins were very strong due to regional supply constraints and the cost of importing equivalent product during the period. The result also reflects an extremely consistent operating performance, a credit to the hard yards of the team led by Michelle [Bardy?]

and Stewart Simons and what they've put in to improve reliability over the period. Likewise, our sourcing and distribution businesses performed well, and you can see that in the Australian and international results.

Securing term supply, ensuring supplier performance, optimization across markets, and price risk management all played their part in delivering a very strong operating result and ensuring that our customers got the fuel they needed. Energy Solutions also benefited from the focus of that team on public charging following the restructure last year.

Slide 13 looks at the key operating metrics for Lytton. I've already talked to the reliability of operations at the refinery, and that's reflected in the graph on the right-hand side.

On the left-hand side, you can see that the Lytton refiner margin averaged US$28.26 per barrel for the half, compared with $7.44 per barrel in the prior corresponding period, remembering every US$1 is worth about 30 million Aussie dollars per half. You can also see the uptick in the July margin, where we also ran at full production before heading into the major maintenance efforts in August.

While we're on this slide, I just wanted to remind people of the government's revision to the Fuel Security Services Payment, or the FSSP, which took place earlier this year. My sense is this got a little lost in the noise of the Iran conflict, which followed shortly afterwards.

The revision sees the cap and collar lifted from a previous range of 4.6 to 6.4% cents per liter, that is, and has increased that to 8.2 to 10 cents per liter. As the red line on that graph on the left-hand side shows, this moves the cap to be broadly in line with the average performance over the last 5 years.

This will make a big difference to stability of refining earnings in future years. It also comes ahead of a second-phase review, which we'll be looking to progress over the remainder of this year.

Slide 14 shows the drivers of Lytton's earnings year-on-year. Look, we've touched on the refining margins and production, which were the key drivers already, I'm just going to move to slide 15.

Slide 15 talks through the F&I International result. As most of you are aware, we operate one supply optimization or trading and shipping team out of Singapore and Houston.

The primary role of this team is to support physical supply, sea freight, price risk management of refined products to our Australian and New Zealand businesses, as well as crude oil to the Lytton refinery. The benefits of these activities is included in Lytton, F&I Australia, and New Zealand results.

The scale of our physical short into Australia and New Zealand and the insights we gain by being a major buyer in the region enables Ampol to derive additional value via our international business. This can come from sale of fuel to third parties, fuel blending and storage, managing time charters, or capitalizing on pricing dislocation between markets.

In many respects, we are unique in an Australian and New Zealand context in our ability to do this at scale within tightly controlled risk settings. It's a source of significant outperformance in periods like what we've just seen.

While the source of the result might vary year to year, possessing the capabilities to leverage these market insights that we generate and adapt to changing market conditions means we can create value that others cannot. This capability has taken over a decade to build, requires little capital, and supplements the benefits we see flowing through the rest of our system.

Slide 16 shows the F&I Australia result. The business delivered a very strong first half, with RCOP EBIT increasing to $309 million.

In a period where less reliable supply chains came under pressure, Ampol was able to supply customers, including through periods of pull-forward demand. The result also includes supply benefits from term supply favorably priced ahead of the conflict and the optimization by trading and shipping of barrels flowing into the Australian market.

If we turn to Energy Solutions on slide 17, it's fair to say with the exit from retail electricity, we've simplified our approach to Energy Solutions and are now very focused on electric vehicle charging. Across Australia and New Zealand, we delivered 79 public charging bays in the first half, up from 49 in the prior corresponding period.

Charging sessions and energy sold continue to grow, particularly in Australia. We're keeping a close eye on this market, and we're positive about the potential for EV charging demand to accelerate.

The two charts on the right-hand side tell some of that story. We're seeing rising EV sales as a percentage of new car sales, driven by the availability of more affordable Chinese vehicles, noting that EVs represented 20% of new car sales during the second quarter of this year.

Secondly, the industry is seeing constraints in getting access to new sites and grid capacity to build charges to meet this demand. This should support utilization and reward those with access to good sites and to power.

That puts Ampol in a strong position to leverage its capabilities and assets in years ahead. Moving now to our Australian Convenience Retail business on slide 18.

This was yet another strong result, extending the earnings growth that we have seen for a number of years now. Total retail fuel sales volume was up 2.4%, with growth in Ampol Foodary and UGo.

We extended the half with 47 Sorry, we ended the half with 47 UGo sites, and UGo fuel volume growth was 64%. While premium fuels are down as a percentage of total fuel volume sold, this is largely due to growth in base grade fuels, being UGo growth or market share gains in a period where less stable supply chains were really challenged.

Shop performance was also strong, with headline shop sales up 0.4 of 1%. Excluding tobacco and sites converted to UGo, network shop sales grew 3.5%.

Shop gross margin increased to 40.1%, and average basket value increased by 2.6%. Slide 19 really highlights the long-term trend of the retail performance.

You can see the improvement in shop gross margin over time, the consistent improvement in average basket value despite the impact of tobacco, and the continued growth in Convenience Retail EBIT. The consistency of performance in Convenience Retail puts us in a great position as we integrate the EG Australia business in the coming months.

This provides a clear pathway to scale for the UGo format while extending the network and improving customer experience at Ampol Foodary. Slide 20 shows the bridge for Convenience Retail earnings.

EBIT increased by $21.8 million year-on-year. Fuel income was the largest driver, reflecting volume growth and premium fuel mix.

Shop income held broadly flat despite tobacco, and disciplined cost management helped support overall earnings outcomes. Turning to New Zealand on slide 21.

It's fair to say Z had a more challenging half, primarily due to the way the market reacted to the Iran conflict. Retail fuel volumes were lower in the half, reflecting softer conditions and the slower pass-through of rapidly rising import costs.

This impacted demand and also margins as board prices lagged the rising cost of refined fuels. The underlying retail platform performed well.

Average basket value increased to $15.45, and store gross margin continued to improve. You can see on slide 22, it shows the New Zealand earnings bridge, and this chart is in New Zealand dollars.

You see we've normalized FY '25 results to remove earnings from businesses we have since exited, including Flick Energy and dividends from Channel Infrastructure. The underlying business performance highlights the demand and temporary fuel margin impacts I just mentioned a moment ago.

While the chart is presented in New Zealand dollars, it's also worth noting that the kiwi dollar weakened year-on-year, and as a result, the translation to Aussie dollars was impacted by approximately $6.5 million year-on-year. Okay.

If we go to our balance sheet and cash flow on slide 23, the result is a great reminder of just how cash-generative this business can be. Our record earnings converted into a healthy cash generation, despite the need to carry more inventory given the supply chain challenges our industry was facing.

It's important to note, however, that these cash flows do not include the tax on earnings generated in the period. These taxes will not be paid until the middle of 2027 and will be an uplift of approximately half a billion dollars.

Now, the reality is we should be able to unwind working capital at a similar rate. The all-cash acquisition of EG on the 30th of June added approximately $1.1 billion to net debt.

The timing of the EG acquisition was fortuitous, and given the strength of our performance during the half, we elected to cash out the scrip component of the EG consideration for $315 million. You will also note that Ampol is carrying $148 million of additional inventory in an arrangement with Export Finance Australia to further bolster fuel reserves in Australia.

Ampol takes no price risk on these cargos and will be compensated for the cost of carry and handling costs associated with managing the volume. As a result of all of that, net borrowings ended the half at $3.5 billion, and leverage on net debt to EBITDA was 1.8 turns, reflecting the strong earnings result.

Lastly for me, slide 24. The strong earnings and cash flow performance has enabled us to declare $441 million of dividends or a 185-cent-per-share interim dividend.

This is our largest dividend ever and is in addition to the $315 million cash-out of the EG scrip consideration during the period, which you could argue is akin to a buyback. More broadly, we're committed to our capital allocation framework, that is: maintaining a strong investment-grade credit rating; paying dividends within our targeted range of 50 to 70% of RCOP NPAT; deploying capital where we see returns and growth opportunities that are on strategy; and returning surplus capital to shareholders where we do not.

As the chart on the left-hand side illustrates, we've a strong track record of doing this, and you should expect the same from us in the future. With that, I'll hand back to Matt to take you through the strategy update and the outlook.

Thank you.

Great. Thanks very much, Greg.

We're now moving to the strategy update. Before turning to outlook, I want to step back and explain how the result we have just walked through fits with the broader strategic direction of the group.

The first-half result shows the value of the platform we've been building and strengthening over several years that represents a larger transport energy business, a more resilient earnings base, stronger retail growth options, and meaningful capability in supply trading and risk management. The next few slides set out how we intend to keep building on that platform.

Slide 26 sets out the strategic journey we've been on. Since 2019, we've progressively strengthened the core, restored the Ampol brand, expanded regionally through Z, built capability in retail segmentation, productivity, and energy transition, and then added scale and earnings quality through the EG Australia acquisition.

This is a cumulative strategy where each step builds on the one before it. The result is a broader transport energy platform with a stronger, more resilient earnings base, more retail growth options, greater supply chain capability, and that means more optionality as customer energy needs evolve.

The future earnings profile will be increasingly supported by Convenience Retail, UGo, commercial fuels, and EG integration, supported by a more reliable refining earnings underpinned by FSSP. We have materially grown non-refining earnings over this period, including in this half, and that is the direction of travel, which provides context for both the first-half result and our priorities for the remainder of the year.

Turning now to our 2026 priorities. The framework is consistent with the strategy we've spoken about now for some time: enhance the core business, expand from our rejuvenated fuels platform, and evolve the energy offer for customers.

Under enhance, the focus is on maximizing Lytton value. We expect to start up the low sulfur fuels project towards the end of the year, having completed the Lytton turnaround and inspection early in the fourth quarter.

We expect the regional scarcity of the revised gasoline specifications to be supportive of a quality premium. We are also progressing the FSSP review, with Phase 1 complete with a substantial increase in the level at which it kicks in, and Phase 2 aiming to address the conditions required to secure the refinery operations for the longer term.

Acknowledging that oil markets remain tight and volatile, we will continue to prioritize supply to Ampol's key markets to provide supply security during market disruptions, while maintaining flexibility to use insights gathered to manage risk and capture value creation opportunities. Notwithstanding the strong financial performance, productivity remains a priority.

We are targeting a further $50 million of nominal cost reduction across '26 and '27, including annualized benefits from Energy Solutions simplification, productivity across the fuel supply chain and Lytton, and UGo in Convenience Retail. Under expand, the focus is on EG integration and continuing our segmentation strategy across the Australian network, including premium stores, hero product development, and the scaling of UGo.

In New Zealand, the priorities are to grow the convenience store business, leveraging the Z Rewards loyalty program, which will also provide learnings for us in Australia. Under evolve, we will continue to expand EV public charging in Australia and New Zealand, with a focus on Tier 1 locations with grid access.

Two things are becoming clearer to us. Firstly, that connecting quality locations to the grid is only becoming more expensive, and secondly, public charging is an increasingly important part of the charging solution, with attractive margins in the right locations.

We'll also continue to participate in shaping the policy settings needed to progress a renewable fuels industry in Australia. Moving now to EG Australia.

Completion occurred on 30 June, and we elected to cash settle the scrip component of consideration. The final cash consideration was approximately $1.165 billion.

Cash acquired was approximately $29 million, and the combined company-operated network is now around 1,080 sites, net of the 41 sites to be divested. The strategic rationale remains compelling.

EG strengthens Ampol's investment case, gives us a pathway to scale UGo and other convenience formats, and provides attractive EPS and free cash flow accretion after synergies. We continue to have high confidence in the $65 to $80 million per annum synergy opportunity, which are largely cost-related and expected to be delivered within 2 years post-completion.

Importantly, this is a business we know well, in a market we know well. It gives us scale to expand Ampol Foodary, accelerate UGo, and improve the consistency and effectiveness of our customer offer right across the network.

It is very much an extension of and a logical bolt-on to the strategy we've we have been pursuing for several years. We also have confidence in execution because EG builds on capabilities Ampol has already demonstrated: retail segmentation, UGo roll-out, Foodary development, cost discipline, and the successful integration of Z.

I'd now like to close today with a view of current trading conditions and the outlook. The first half was clearly a very strong result, but we're focused on what it means for the business going forward: the earnings quality we're building, the cash generation it supports, and the opportunities we have to continue growing shareholder value.

Turning now to slide 30. We've had a strong start to the second half.

Lytton's realized refiner margin in July was US$27.11 per barrel, with production of 524 million liters, so much stronger than the same time last year. Convenience Retail and New Zealand fuel margins are experiencing a period of rising landed costs, which tend to lag through to retail board pricing.

The store is performing well, with tobacco having stabilized and, in fact, growing following some stronger enforcement activity. Ex-tobacco sales are also experiencing encouraging growth.

EG Australia will contribute to Convenience Retail earnings in Australia, and both F&I Australia and International are up year-on-year. The FCC turnaround at Lytton commenced in late July, with startup expected in October.

Lytton will produce at approximately 70% of normal levels during this period. The low sulfur fuel project is expected to be ready for startup towards the end of the year.

Looking to the medium term, the first half demonstrated the structural benefits of our integrated value chain in navigating geopolitical disruption. We have earnings catalysts at Lytton through low sulfur fuels and the FSSP Phase 2 review, and in fuel and convenience through the delivery of EG synergies.

Importantly, the overarching context is that oil product markets are expected to remain tight, as global refinery runs continue to be impacted by the ongoing conflicts in both the Middle East and Russia. Russia has resorted to gasoline imports and a diesel export ban due to intensified and increasingly capable Ukrainian drone attacks.

The Atlantic Basin is already maximizing runs and delaying autumn turnarounds, increasing the risk of unplanned outages. East of India ex-China, refinery runs are above June levels, but still about 500,000 barrels per day lower than 2025, with the release of trapped Hormuz barrels during June having allowed Asian refiners to temporarily replenish their inventories.

All of this is compounding very low product inventory levels, for middle distillates in particular, with limited new refining project capacity in the global pipeline, and in fact, with some rebuilding required. Recent events have highlighted concerns about fuel security for all countries dependent on imports of crude and refined products.

Similar to Australia, we are seeing announcements to rebuild or extend strategic reserves. This will take some time given the tightness of the available refinery capacity and the level of current inventories.

All of this points to a tight refining supply market going forward, and the forward curve for product cracks certainly reflects this, holding up much higher for much longer and shifting up between US$10 to $20 between July and August for the 10 ppm diesel crack. This context is all very positive for Lytton and also a positive market market dynamic for the trading and shipping capability that we have built over many years.

Given these factors, we are confident about our future earnings potential, with a number of tailwinds likely to persist, albeit not at the same levels as in the first half. Now on slide 31, I'd like to close out with why we believe Ampol remains a compelling investment proposition.

We are not suggesting that the exceptional market conditions experienced in the first half represent a new normal. However, those market conditions do now appear tighter for longer.

What the first half did demonstrate is that the value of the capabilities we have built over many, many years continues to deliver strong value for shareholders. Our integrated supply chain, trading platform, customer relationships, retail strategy, all contributed to that outcome.

The first point is that Ampol has already built a structural base for earnings that is broader and more resilient. The earnings mix has shifted meaningfully over time, and with EG Australia now completed, the contribution from fuel and convenience will continue to grow.

Second, while the half benefited from exceptional market conditions, the supply, trading, and infrastructure capability we have built supports customers, protects supply, generates cash, and creates value through the cycle. Thirdly, we have clear growth opportunities through Convenience Retail, UGo, and EG, and in areas where Ampol has already demonstrated strong execution capability.

We expect to see a recovery in trading conditions in New Zealand and opportunities to arise in EV charging as EV uptake steps up, and in renewable fuels over time. In addition, there are further potential catalysts from supportive policy shifts for fuel resilience and the energy transition.

I think it's fair to say the national strategic importance of our infrastructure, including the Lytton refinery, and our trading and supply capability has, in fact, never been clearer. Finally, we remain disciplined in capital allocation.

We have a strong balance sheet, a track record of returning capital to shareholders while also investing in the core business and value-accretive growth. A strong earnings backdrop, as the business moves beyond its current elevated CapEx by the end of this year, positions Ampol very strongly for cash distributions to our shareholders.

In closing, we feel good about the position Ampol's in. The first half demonstrated the strength of the platform we have built, which can support customers, generate cash, and create additional value when markets are tight and disrupted.

As conditions normalize over time, we believe investors should focus less on whether individual cyclical earning streams repeat and more on the fact that Ampol exits the half with a stronger earnings base, stronger cash generation, and more avenues for growth than at any point in the last decade. As you assess Ampol, we'd encourage you to focus on that stronger platform: greater retail scale, proven supply and trading capability, and strong cash generation with multiple pathways to growth and value creation.

Thank you. That concludes the presentation.

Greg and I will now take your questions, and we also have members of the executive team on the line to support. With that, we'll take the first question, please.

Good morning, everyone, and and well done on executing so well and making the most of the buoyant conditions. The first question from me is related to the outlook that you present on slide 30.

The positive or continuation of positive conditions in refining, I guess, is is fairly obvious, and and the charts you've got on that slide are are intuitive. Does it make sense to hedge any of your exposure to refining given where the forward curves are?

Just interested to understand qualitatively what this dynamic means for the trading and shipping business, as well as F&I Australia, given they've clearly benefited from this dynamic in the first half as well.

Yeah. Thanks, Michael.

Look, we we certainly contemplate and review refiner margin hedging from time to time. We typically don't do a lot of it.

We do do some, and it's something we'll continue will continue to review. I think part of the message we're trying to convey in delivering this result is it's obviously strong.

The trading and shipping capability that Ampol has into this market is quite unique. It's been built over many years.

Not only does it capitalize on tight market conditions, but but refining benefits from those tight money market conditions. Too can trading and shipping, and I think that's it's that capability that was on show in delivering supply security through periods of market disruption.

As market market's remain tight going forward, I think that capability equally comes to the fore. Okay.

Thank you. Then the second one for me is just relating to the turnaround in refining and how we should think about it.

Normally turnaround periods aren't a pretty horrible for earnings, but given the dynamic, you're still going to be making very good profits during this turnaround period. Should we just think about most of the volume impact being in gasoline, where crack spreads are weaker, having normal sort of OpEx and pretty close to normal levels of middle distillate production through that period?

Yeah. I think the the impact is mainly in gasoline, not entirely, but, as I mentioned in the comments, we'll be producing at about 70% of normal levels of capacity, and obviously margins remain very strong, including particularly for middle distillates, which are less impacted.

It's it's about the right way to think about it.

Yeah. Good morning, Matt, Greg, and the broader team, and congratulations on the record result.

I just want to focus on on UGo. Given how strong economics and early performance appears to be, can you just remind us how do you actually evaluate sites for conversions, and what do you think the total size of the opportunity set could be on a longer-term basis?

Yeah. Thanks, Ewan.

It's Greg here. Look, we we're really pleased with the way UGo is performing, is the first thing I'd I'd note.

What I think we've spoken earlier about the potential of this and the 1-year kind of payback of the economics that surround that. We're certainly seeing economics whether that or more favorable.

It got a bit of a tailwind, as you can imagine, when fuel prices were higher. Consumers were very price-sensitive, a well-positioned and fully-stocked UGo performed well when other supply chains were struggling.

We had We had slated 60 under our own network. We see EG producing at least 125 additional sites for that, so that's a network of 185.

That'll take about 2 years to deliver, and that was our commitment over that 2-year timeframe. I have to say when we look at UGo, we're probably more look at EG, I should say, now that we've had ownership of it for 6 to 7 weeks, we're probably thinking that UGo number will creep up over time, but, of course, EG was around a a 2-year time horizon.

To answer your question directly, it was 185 UGos is where we expect it to be post the integration of EG 2 years in 2 years' time.

Might just see if Kate Kate, anything you want to build on that? From a UGo point of view?

We're really happy with the progress of UGo. Selection comes down to a site-by-site, decision where we're confident that we've got the opportunity to, remove operational costs and provide a, a value offer to customers.

Yes. Ewen, think of it as labor labor out, net of store margin foregone, tends to be a a positive, and then we we then expect fuel growth from a, a a more aggressive pricing position.

That's clear. Thanks, guys.

Then secondly, a lot of media articles recently as enforcement activity on illicit tobacco has stepped up across service station networks. Are you seeing any benefits from this, and do you have a view on whether tobacco can actually be sustainably removed from the independent networks?

Yeah. We've certainly seen, and as we mentioned in our comments, tobacco not only not only stabilized, but moved back into growth on the back of some stronger enforcement action.

I think also some disruption, frankly, from the Middle East in terms of supply chains. In certain states in particular, we've seen the enforcement be quite effective, and so that is certainly playing through the the numbers in the first half, and certainly more recently over over the recent probably, 2 or 3 months, we've seen a a a quite a marked adjustment.

Good morning, Matt, Greg, and the broader team. Congratulations also on record earnings for the half.

Just as the market interprets the potential upside for Ampol from sustained pricing in global oil and product prices, and particularly how it might support Ampol's balance sheet, and just provides the stronger outcomes under your capital framework, wondering if you could just guide a range of where you expect Ampol's leverage might finish the year. Perhaps the sensitivity for us if if current product prices do hold at elevated levels through October.

Yeah. That's a that's a walking into a trap for me there, Tom.

What What I would say as a steer is, well, a couple of things to note. We're sitting on a reasonable amount of inventory, both price and volume, at the half.

Depending on what happens over the next 6 months with fuel availability, you would expect that to unwind over time, I'm not talking specifically with year end in mind, and you would expect generally a positive cash generation in the second half that should further improve our leverage ratio below the 1.8 turns, notwithstanding the dividend. That would be the first steer I'd give you.

I think when you then cast forward to 2027, what we've always had in mind and guides us is in a mid-cycle basis, we would expect leverage to be back within our targeted range of 2 to 2.5, and the aim is to land somewhere in the middle. Now that's a mid-cycle range that implies average refining margins, and and with the charts you've seen on slide 30, I think it is, or slide 30 that Matt talked to, yeah, the market is signaling that it's likely to be quite a bit stronger than that.

From a sensitivity perspective, every US$1 of refining margin uplift per annum on average is $60 million, and we don't have any major maintenance planned for 2027. All that drops to the bottom line, and of course, we're coming to the end of our low sulfur fuels project, you should see CapEx start to step back down towards that sort of $450 million sustainable level.

It does all set up for a very strong cash generation over the next 18 months. As I said in my comments, if we're, when we find ourselves in that position, our track record's pretty clear.

Thanks, Greg. Appreciate that.

That's clear. Perhaps just as we interpret whether or not there's a basis for conservatism on the balance sheet, just if there is the potential for higher CapEx in the medium term.

I thought it was interesting, your comments in the presentation, that you thought the market might have missed the outcome of the new Phase 1 support level under the FSSP, and that turns on when refining margins average $15.90 a barrel in Australian dollar terms. You can see consensus estimates aren't not far above that level at the moment in '28 and beyond.

Wondering if you could comment perhaps on the timeframe and key milestones, potential outcomes for the industry and Ampol that might come from the fuel security and resilience package that the Commonwealth Government is currently consulting on. How Ampol might participate in additional fuel storage going forward, potential funding mechanisms for that, and even if there were the potential for more investments in an expansion at Lytton, and what it might require.

Yeah. Maybe I'll make a couple of comments to kick us off.

There's a couple of points in there. The revision to the existing FSSP, I think, was a little bit overlooked, and I think it is just because within a couple of weeks, the whole events in Iran started to unfold.

That is something in the order of a 3.6-cent-a-liter step-up in where the entry point is into that mechanism. It also included a revision to the calculation of the marker itself that improved in a further 0.6%, it's a 0.6 of 1 cent.

It's a 4.2-cent uplift in what the minimum is, which I think is a, as a graph shows in the presentation, is a really healthy increase in the level of support. Now when we now roll into FSSP 2, I won't get into the specifics of that engagement.

The government has put some consultation papers out there on fuel security more broadly, but you can imagine the things on our mind are the tenor of that arrangement. The arrangement at the moment is to 2030.

I think by any analysis, you would say demand for middle distillates in particular is going to go well out into the 2040s at strength. You're interested in the tenor of that agreement.

You're interested in what you can achieve for in the event that you have a reliability event, some sort of issue at the refinery. Obviously our peers have had a difficult time at their refinery recently.

You want to make sure there's a level of protection on that basis. Ultimately, make refining as investable as possible in the knowledge that its strategic importance to the country has risen, but naturally the nature of equity markets, the value for predictable, rateable earnings increases as well, and that we want to bridge that gap as best we can.

That's the focus, and the government are well aware of our views on these things. We're having very constructive dialogue, and I dare say, the other refinery in Australia is likely very aligned around similar sort of drivers.

Just on the storage point, Tom. The government has released its consultation paper for storage last week.

I think there's an absolute commitment to build out more MSO and establish a national fuel reserve. I think, probably obvious, but those large storage locations where you can get product in efficiently, where you can get it to market, where you can sort of cycle it, co-mingle it, and then get it to market efficiently, is going to be the way to get that in place most efficiently, most quickly.

I think Ampol's infrastructure is really well-positioned from that point of view, and we'll continue to engage with the government through that consultation process.

Good morning, Matt and Greg. Just wanted to get a feel I like the way you've positioned the F&I benefits from this situation, but how do you see that going forward, not just for this 6-month period, but do you see the business as being positioned for volatility in both directions?

How should we judge the earnings base for that F&I International in a less volatile oil price environment?

Yeah. I think Greg covered it in his presentation that we've built a capability that I think is a significant strategic capability that has a demonstrable track record now of managing risk and downside exposure, and being able to position to capitalize on market opportunities when markets are disrupted and are tight.

The second point, though, is equally important, which is when we look at markets and inventory levels and the context in refined product markets at the moment, it looks pretty tight, and the curve is pricing that. We've got the capability, and we continue to build it.

It's been built over a long period of time. We've got pretty tight markets now, given this has played out for a while, drawn down stocks, and has every prospect of continuing to drag out.

That's how I'd frame that. Brent here, Brent, I might just ask you for any observations on that question.

I'll add just a little bit. Obviously, the role in managing inside the market means you need to be able to operate in whether it's a strong market or weak market.

I think if you look globally at how profits are driven, you normally see outsized profits when there is a sudden shock and step-up in markets. However, our ability as a business is one to manage all markets.

As the presentation today says, focusing on efficient delivery and maximum to supply our customers is our goal. Across all cycles, we should be able to perform, but different markets do present larger opportunities, each circumstance is different, I guess.

Okay. Thank you.

The second one, just on the Convenience segment, it's good to hear that tobacco markets might be stabilizing. What's been the detail of the gross margin ex-tobacco?

I had calculated it might have been down slightly. Maybe just a broader question on that.

Is the convenience gross margin percentage, the shop gross margin percentage, likely to be stable from here, or do you see upside, maybe it's associated with UGo or any other mix effects?

Thanks, Craig. Kate?

Yeah. Margin is broadly flat.

We've seen some benefits from mix improvement. We've seen some slight detraction with wastage, which is just reflective of the bakery range that we have invested in some stores.

I think, over time, we'll see performance in margin continue. We have seen the full benefit of Metcash flow through, but obviously, over time, there'll be benefits that we can realize in EG as well.

Yeah.

The other thing I'd build on that, Craig, is sort of and in the outlook, in terms of how we've started the second half and the performance in the shop, not from a margin point of view, but really in terms of mix and sales ex-tobacco, put the tobacco trend to one side, we've actually seen some really encouraging trends in the store in terms of those high-margin categories, which is consistently the execution and the strategy the team's had in place and continues to progress very well.

Hi, good day, Matt and Greg. Congratulations on the result today and making the most of the market.

I just wanted to ask a couple of questions. Firstly, on the EV charging network, could you just perhaps unpack that point of breakeven?

Are you thinking about shop sales that those customers are engaging in while their vehicles charging as part of that, or when you talk about breakeven, are you simply talking EBITDA on the charging itself? Could you just clarify the F&I's Energy Solutions EBITDA, the negative $12.7, is that the line item that you're referring to?

Is that what we're expecting to move into positive territory? Thanks.

Yeah. Thanks, Mark.

It's Greg. There's a couple of bits to that, but we definitely see upside on Ampol sites from charging over time.

That dwell time drives more custom in-store. When we're talking about breakeven exiting 2028, we're really looking at that from an energy sold perspective, just charging.

Remembering, of course, our network and the potential here for EV charging extends well beyond our own Convenience Retail network, and we have relationships with a number of the big retail property businesses and the like. That's the guts of the question.

Yes, that is the line we're talking about. That is our Australian EV charging business.

It includes some wholesale energy management. We have PPA arrangements and things like that, where we source power for the group through there as well, and some modest benefit from that.

Essentially what we're referring to is that is the result that you are looking at, which is an EBIT loss of around $15 million for the half.

Okay. Great.

Just a bigger-picture question on capital allocation. As a team, you've really proven yourselves as, yeah, among the strongest capital allocators in the sector.

I wonder if we could just unpack the next phase of growth for the company. It sounds like having done Z, having done the rebrand, having done EG Group, there's really and the compliant CapEx on fuel, it sounds like there's actually not that much out there in terms of calls on capital.

Is there a world, do you think, post-FSSP Phase 2, where your leverage metrics and payout metrics need to adjust? Do you think we're heading into a period where you can run a little bit more debt and a higher payout?

Yeah. Thanks, Mark.

It's Greg again. Look, I'm probably not of the mind yet to consider changing our targeted leverage range.

I think it's served us pretty well, and we are, as we've seen in the last couple of years, entering slightly more volatile periods. I think that creates really significant opportunities for us, and this result exemplifies that.

What I would say is, if we can secure the FSSP 2 in a way that removes some of the downside risk associated with that asset, that may be a catalyst. It was last time with the introduction of the first FSSP.

I think we had our range with Moody's stepped up about 0.2 of a turn from memory because we increased the stability of that asset. That could be a catalyst.

I think your underlying or overarching point's the right one. We're coming through in the middle of a significant acquisition and integration now.

I think we've signaled we're positively disposed to electric vehicle charging over time. We'll see what comes out of the policy and consultation on storage.

That could certainly lend itself to incremental investment. Having said all that, this business, in an environment where refining margins are higher and your trading business is well-positioned to capitalize on some of these dislocated markets and product flows, we should be a very cash-generative business.

I think our track record is there to say that if we're tipping back below the range that and that looks sustainable, and we're not sitting on an attractive investment opportunity, then that tends to find its way back to shareholders pretty quickly.

Good morning. Yes.

Congratulations on the result. Can I ask a question about the proposed divestment of 41 or so sites to Metro?

Is there any update on the status of that buyer, and is there an alternative that could be lined up?

Yeah. Thanks, Rob.

It's Greg again. Look, we are in the early phases of that process.

We've obviously got a buyer who has been approved by the competition commission. We had a deeper pool than that naturally at the time.

We have some conditions precedent to work through, and our expectation is that that divestment process will conclude towards the end of this year. If for some reason there were an issue, then we would adapt, but I'm not expecting one.

Okay. Good to hear.

Thank you. Then, may I ask, within the F&I Australia result, obviously there's a benefit from term supply in there.

Are you able to give us any kind of extra color on quantum of that and help us adjust for current period?

That's a trickier one to do without sort of diving into the specifics. We typically go into a half about 50% term is what we try to do across our cargos across different products.

It really does vary a bit year to year depending on market conditions. Really what you're seeing play out in that result is a few things.

One, we gained some share because there were less resilient supply chains out there. That is in part because of investments we've made.

We have term customer base as well as term supply, and where we could meet the market for those that were more reliant on sort of traded and spot volumes, we did. We have deep relationships with suppliers who stood behind their obligations in large part because of the hard work of our team in Singapore, who've got a decade or so of long-term relationships.

Beyond that, it's hard for me to get into. It's a combination of those factors that drive the outsized result in the period, and I think you've seen a fair degree of consistency prior to the conflict in that part of the business.

That's the delta is driven by a combination of those factors, and we go in well-supplied into the second half.

Morning Matt, Greg, and team. Nice result.

Just the first question, just EG Group. Can we get a trading update, how that business is going the last 6 months roughly?

Yeah. It's

performed okay, I would say. It's performed in line with our expectations.

It's a business that has, in our view, priced higher than necessarily the quality of the proposition in-market, and has ceded share as a result. I think you can see that in that's reflected in our strategy, which is, we believe there's a opportunity to both upgrade and deliver a more consistent proposition through Ampol Foodary, and those smaller sites, which are often retail car park sites that have a very small retail store footprint, they are often high fuel volume sites and tend to be low Ampol card sites.

They can be a really attractive proposition to UGo. That business has been unsurprising in the last 6 months.

Probably benefited a little bit from our supply arrangement into that business, which would have been to F&I's detriment. We look through those things and look at it on an integrated basis going forward.

You're still confident you've talked about high single-digit EPS, double-digit free cash accretion at the time of the deal. I think you changed the wording slightly.

I don't know if that's me looking into it too much or still happy with that?

Probably by accident, Adam, to be honest. Our view has not changed, and we are very confident the combination of that business with ours will be better for it, and we stand behind the metrics we put forward at the time of the deal.

thank you very much, and a great result, John and Greg. Slide 23, Greg.

You highlighted $148 million of additional inventory from EFA. What is the outlook for the relationship with Export Finance Australia and for Ampol's supportive inventory volumes by them, and does this involve Ampol taking on any risk?

Yeah. Thanks, Gordon.

Your last point first: no. Under the arrangement, we effectively act, if you like, as a for want of a better term, a buying agent.

We source the product, hold it, and that's important because you want it to flow to customers quickly when asked by the government to release that inventory. You want it close to your infrastructure so it can reach market.

We're not taking price risk on that product. The relationship has been good with EFA, I think, and with the department.

I think, putting politics aside, they certainly responded quickly when events started to unfold, and we're in regular dialogue with them. I think I would describe them as standing ready to go if the need arises.

It's always a tradeoff of, is it that physical supply constraints, or is it when things tighten that you're getting fuel and it's just getting more expensive to land that product in Australia? They seem ready to go if required, and there's a couple of us have a reasonably frequent dialogue with a number of the government departments to just keep them abreast of what's happening with regional fuel supply and flows.

Thank you. A question for Matt.

Do you have a view on the preliminary proposal to build another refinery in Australia versus adding more product storage capacity?

Thanks, Gordon. Look, I think it's fair to say our efforts and focus with government is clearly, and they would agree, the two remaining refineries are absolutely critical.

They need to be investable for the long term, and so getting FSSP 2 locked away to ensure that is where the absolute focus is. I wouldn't comment on the specifics of the other announcement, but that's where our focus is, and I think that's absolutely critical alongside the efforts on storage.

Oh, thanks very much. Matt, I might just continue on with the comments that you've just made there.

You've given a little bit of color through the presentation on Phase 2 of the discussions as to timeline and all of that. Some of these things get a bit lost.

Do you still expect a release in this calendar year? Is that what you're saying?

What are you actually thinking investable means from your perspective, please?

Yeah. Sure.

That's certainly what we're aiming for is an outcome or at least a clear understanding of the direction of travel to be then implemented probably through next year. Yes, achieving that by the end of this year.

I think what it means is, when you step back from where we are, I think there's clear alignment that the refineries are going to be required for the longer term. That means we need to be investing over a longer horizon, and that means we need to have confidence in returns to be able to do that.

It's that might sound simple. There are different ways you can achieve that, but I think there's good alignment on that being the context that we're trying to solve for here.

I think that means there needs to be more downside protection beyond the margin protection, and Greg I think alluded to this in his comments, that we need to make them investable to have those confidence in returns over the longer term. That's what we're aiming for.

I can't be more specific than that at this stage, but I would say there is very good alignment on that's what we try to solve for here.

Okay. Great.

Then, excuse me, my second question is on slide 15, please, which is hugely helpful in terms of looking at the F&I International history and some of the factors behind more limited earnings in '24, '25. In your prepared remarks, Matt, you commented on the likelihood of longer-term disruption, and maybe it's not as severe as the first half was, but you're clearly looking and setting the business in place for disruption that goes beyond this calendar year.

I don't want to put words in your mouth, but is what you're saying with this chart that when there is periods of disruption, that when the F&I International business has an opportunity to earn, you're thinking about the fact that higher levels of earnings than what we saw in '24 and '25 are sustainable into the medium term, to speak?

Yeah. I think we're trying to convey a message that is Ampol's capability, which has been built up over quite a long period of time, is quite distinctive in our sector and certainly in our market.

It manages risk and has very tight settings around risk management, which means it protects us against any material downside. I think the chart on 15 demonstrates that where there are well-supplied markets is the terminology, there'll be some money to be made at a baseline level, and Brent alluded to that.

When markets are tight, those conditions are absolutely suited to that business being able to make money. This is the money, or the profit, just to be clear, that's over and above that relating to the barrels that go into Australia and New Zealand, our core markets.

That core supply focus is what Brent and the team focus on. When markets are tight, and those charts on slide 43, I think it was, for product inventories indicate things are tight.

That's what the market's pricing. The geopolitical volatility is certainly ongoing, as we can all see.

On now very, very tight product inventory levels. We went into this at the start of the year in terms of crude and product inventories with plenty of stock.

As this continues to go longer, both in the Middle East and in Russia, you can see that product stocks have gone down to tight levels. That is hard to rebuild quickly.

You've got tighter markets, and they are good conditions for our trading business.

Thanks very much for joining the call. Obviously, a really strong result for Ampol as a result of, I think, capability and investment that's been made in the business over a long period of time.

I think the business now is really well set strategically to continue to build on that platform as we've mentioned. Thanks for joining.

Look forward to talking to you all soon. Thank you.

That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating.

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