Jilin Chemical Industrial had a 100,000-tonne year-on-year decline in crude-oil processing volume in the first quarter this year due to sluggish demand, according to general manager Shi Jianxun.
In Hong Kong yesterday, Mr Shi said he expected the fall to have a certain 'negative impact on profitability this year', but this would be offset by savings stemming from asset write-offs last year.
The company plans to process 4.65 million tonnes of crude oil this year, compared with 4.5 million tonnes in 1999 and again last year. The H-share is a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp, the parent of listed PetroChina.
Using crude oil as raw material, it produces a range of petroleum products, dyestuffs, synthetic rubber and chemical fertilisers.
Mr Shi said this year's profitability hinged on price movements for the company's end-products, compared with price movements for crude oil. In the first quarter, prices of the company's refined oil products had fallen in tandem with crude oil prices.
The company expected crude oil to average between US$23 and US$25 a barrel.
