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Australian petroleum company Ampol (ASX:ALD) released its first half results today that impressed investors.

For the half, Ampol reported revenue from ordinary activities grew 83.3%, Replacement Cost Operating Profit NPAT more than doubled to $471m, RCOP EBIT surged to $734.1m, total sales volume came in at 11.5b litres, and ALD announced a record fully franked interim dividend of 120 cents per share.

The fuel company said conditions driving refiner margins caused headwinds in other parts of the supply chain including quality premiums which rose to record levels as global markets responded to Russian sanctions and lower refined product exports from China. Conversely, the market volatility also created opportunities for the Trading and Shipping team to source, store and blend physical products and manage price risks using derivatives.

On the business front, Ampol completed its acquisition of Z Energy in New Zealand, divested its interest in Gull and completed the rebranding of 1,285 sites which are expected to be complete by the end of 2022.

Future Energy operating expense rose to $13.2m as the company also launched AmpCharge EV charging brand in April this year and commenced the rollout of the first phase of its electric vehicle charging network in July.

In terms of broker ratings, Macquarie maintained its outperform rating on Ampol and increased its price target to $38.30, following the release of the results.

On the investor front, Ampol shares are trading more than 1% higher today amid a broad market sell-off which indicates investors are happy with the results.