Unstaffed, fuel-only stations are proving a success, petrol retailer Ampol says.
The company converted 27 of its Australian petrol stations to its unmanned U-Go sites in 2025, taking its portfolio to 46, out of 622 company-operated Australian sites as of December 31.
U-Go sites operating for at least 12 months were showing a 50 per cent uplift in fuel volumes and an average of $350,000 earnings improvement, Ampol chief executive Matt Halliday told analysts on Monday.
“We’re really pleased with it,” he said.
“We are seeing that it’s taking about six months for the local market to settle on that operating model, but we’re really pleased with the success we’re seeing once it takes hold.”
The unstaffed sites were open around the clock and designed to compete in the “second franchise operator” end of the market, Mr Halliday said.
He said Ampol’s high-end convenience Foodary stations were also going “from strength to strength”.
Overall, Ampol’s full-year earnings from convenience retail were up 3.2 per cent to $562.1 million, compared to 2024, while its earnings from fuel and infrastructure were up 64 per cent to $572.1 million.
The company delivered a full-year statutory net profit of $82.4 million, down a third from 2024, in part due to a $89.9 million writedown of its 20 per cent interest in Seaoil, an independent fuel company in the Philippines.
Ampol said since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the rebalancing of global oil markets, market dynamics in the Philippines had changed and Ampol viewed that change as structural in nature.
The company said its Lytton oil refinery in Brisbane – one of the last two refineries operating in Australia – performed strongly during 2025, delivering $226.9 million in earnings, up from $23.4 million in 2024.
Ampol said the global energy market remained unsettled, given developments involving Iran, Venezuela and Russia and Ukraine.
“While it is too early to be conclusive on the implications, the integrated nature of Ampol’s value chain means we are well placed to navigate changing conditions through our trading and shipping operations and the Lytton refinery to maintain supply for our customers,” the company said.
Ampol will pay a final dividend of 60 cents per share, fully franked, taking its dividends for the year to $1, the same as a year ago.
Ampol shares were down 3.6 per cent to $27.94 on Monday morning.
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