Sinopec blames 41.6pc fall in first-half net on weak demand for its products
First-half net dives to 23.7 billion yuan but oil refiner expects state action to bring better days
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) posted a 41.6 per cent drop in net profit for the first half on weaker demand for refinery products in its home market.
But demand is expected to recover in the second half as Beijing implements monetary policy to shore up the economy, Sinopec said in an announcement yesterday.
Net profit of the largest crude oil refiner on the mainland dropped to 23.7 billion yuan (HK$28.9 billion) for the six months to June, from 40.2 billion yuan a year earlier, mainly because of higher procurement costs of crude oil, which outpaced the increase in refinery product prices. Crude oil costs increased 13 per cent year on year to 458.8 billion yuan.
Sales grew 9.3 per cent to 1.35 trillion yuan on higher prices of crude oil and refinery products as the company is also a crude oil producer.
Earnings per share dropped to 27.3 fen from 46.4 fen.
Consumption of petrol, diesel and kerosene increased 3 per cent while the consumption of ethylene, the raw material for petrochemical products, rose 4 per cent, compared with 7.8 per cent gross domestic product growth on the mainland.