(Adds share reaction)
June 20 (Reuters) - Caltex Australia CTX.AX on Thursday said it expects first-half operating profit to be less than half of what it was a year earlier, sending its shares down a fifth as the petrol station owner grapples with slowing economic growth and margin pressure.
Caltex forecast operating profit of A$120 million to A$140 million ($82.6 million to $96.4 million) for the six months to June 30. That compared with A$296 million reported a year prior.
Shares of the petrol station and convenience store owner dropped 24% to A$20.52, their lowest in more than five years.
"The industry continues to experience difficult macro-economic conditions arising from the slowing Australian economy, low refining margins and high crude prices combined with a low FX (foreign exchange) rate," said Julian Segal, managing director and chief executive.
Australia, which has not reported a recession since the early 1990's, is growing at its slowest pace in a decade, with unemployment on the rise and consumer spending under pressure. domestic economic activity has impacted domestic demand, including from the transport, agriculture and construction sectors," the company said in a statement.
Oil prices have also squeezed Caltex's profit margin on the back of global growth and geo-political worries.
The fuel supplier said the average Caltex Refiner Margin for the first five months of the year was $8.22 a barrel, compared with an average of $10.06 in the first half of 2018.
The gloomy update also pushed shares in rival Viva Energy Group Ltd VEA.AX down more than 12% to a four-month low.
($1 = 1.4520 Australian dollars)
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