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By Sherin Sunny

Aug 19 (Reuters) -Australian shares ended flat on Monday, as losses in mining and energy stocks were offset by financials' strength, while investors assessed a flurry of mixed corporate earnings to get cues for the week ahead.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO closed 0.1% higher at 7,980.40.

Ampol ALD.AX dropped 4.8%, after the fuel retailer reported weak half yearly profit and lower dividend.

Westpac WBC.AX closed 2.5% higher, lifting financials .AXFJ to end up 0.8%. The lender's third-quarter profit beat analyst forecasts and net interest margin improved.

The remaining three of the "Big Four" banks gained between 0.5% and 1.2%.

Suncorp SUN.AX closed 1.3% higher after the insurer posted higher annual cash earnings but flagged slower growth in fiscal 2025 gross written premiums.

Miners .AXMM fell 0.5% tracking weaker iron ore futures. IRONORE/

Energy stocks .AXEJ closed 0.6% lower, as global oil prices eased, with Paladin Energy PDN.AX falling 5.8%. O/R

The consumer staples sub-index .AXSJ closed 0.8% lower, weighing heavily on the ASX 200 after Australia-listed shares of New Zealand's a2 Milk A2M.AX slumped 18.7%. The infant milk formula maker forecast annual revenue growth below expectations.

Retail giants Woolworths Group WOW.AX and Coles Group COL.AX fell 0.1%, each, earlier in the session.

"Investors are a little bit cautious of strong share price into results given the experience with a2 Milk," said Jun Bei Liu, portfolio manager at Tribeca Investment Partners.

"If you look across consumer sector, most of them... are a little bit weaker. So I would just think that it is just a bit of a profit-taking across the consumer-facing sector."

BlueScope Steel BSL.AX, which was spun off from BHP in 2002, fell 3.1%, after the steelmaker warned of an earnings slump in fiscal 2025 and reported its lowest underlying profit in four years.

Meanwhile, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 closed 0.5% lower at 12,662.11.

Reporting by Sherin Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich

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