Ampol has reported the strongest half-year result in its history, swinging to a statutory net profit of $1.36 billion for the six months to 30 June, against a $25.3 million loss in the same period last year. The driver was not the driveway: it was the Lytton refinery and global fuel trading, both supercharged by disruption across Middle East supply routes. The numbers Revenue rose to $20.4 billion from $15.2 billion. Underlying earnings, measured as operating profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (RCOP EBITDA excluding significant items), climbed 152 per cent to $1.64 billion, and underlying net profit came ...

Australian and Chinese authorities have broken an international syndicate smuggling illegal tobacco into Australia, with more than 60 arrests in China and over $92 million in evaded duty seized at Australian ports. The significance is less the size of the haul than where the enforcement happened: increasingly, before the containers ever arrive. The operation Acting on intelligence from China's Anti-Smuggling Bureau, Australian Border Force officers were notified of 112 containers suspected of carrying illicit tobacco between January and May. Of those, 91 were found to contain more than 60 million cigarettes and 60 kilograms of loose leaf tobacco, with evaded ...