Refinery and service station chain operator Viva Energy is driving ahead with plans to have more than 1000 stores across Australia.
Viva Energy on Monday reported a net profit of $192.1 million for the six months to June 30, up 10.3 per cent on a year earlier.
"Cost of living pressures and illegal tobacco trade are having an impact on consumer demand within our convenience businesses," chief executive Scott Wyatt said.
"At the same time that wage and cost inflation are driving up the cost of doing business across all our business units."
Mr Wyatt said he expected the consumer market to "remain challenging" through the remainder of 2024 and would pursue cost and earnings improvements as a priority over the next 18 months.
Group fuel sales rose six per cent to 8.3 billion litres and group earnings rose by a quarter to $452 million in the period.
Adding to its Shell network, Viva completed the $1.22 billion acquisition of OTR Group's fuel and convenience stores in April, including almost 100 Subway, Wokinabox, Guzman Y Gomez, KrispyKreme, Hungry Jacks, and Oporto counters.
Already the owner of Coles Express outlets, purchased in 2023, Viva plans for its convenience and mobility division earnings to top $500 million by 2028 as it extended its commercial presence in regional areas.
He said the group remained focused on extending the leading OTR convenience offer across the Express network but landlord consents and town planning were taking longer than expected, slowing deployment this year.
The Geelong Refinery, where the group proposes to add an LNG import terminal, operated at near full capacity in the half, compared to a year earlier when it was undergoing major maintenance.
"Continued strength in our commercial businesses, and strong production performance at our Geelong refinery were key drivers of earnings growth," he said.
Energy and Infrastructure earnings increased by 391 per cent to $112.4 million in the half-year, while Commercial and Industrial earnings rose 2.9 per cent to $237.9 million for a record half.
Viva declared an interim dividend of 6.7 cents, down from 8.5 cents a year earlier.
Shares in Viva rose 2.3 per cent to $3.12 in morning trade.
