Viva Energy expects its first-half pre-tax earnings to more than double from a year ago as it benefits from soaring margins, capping a remarkable turnaround for a business that appeared on the brink just over a year ago.

Underlying EBITDA for the January-June period “is expected to be approximately $614 million, an increase of 140 per cent” on the year-earlier $256 million as processing margins from its Geelong plant rose 189 per cent from the first half of calendar 2021, Viva said in a statement to the ASX.