Continued losses pose delisting threat to Jilin Chemical

The A shares of Jilin Chemical Industrial are at risk of being delisted because it expects to post a third consecutive annual loss, the company has warned.

Jilin, a subsidiary of oil giant PetroChina, posted an unaudited net loss of 659.01 million yuan (about HK$617.55 million) in the first nine months of this year, under mainland accounting standards.

The company makes synthetic rubber and chemical fertilisers from refined crude oil.

Weighing on Jilin's bottom line was a fixed-asset write-off of 282.13 million yuan, an inventory loss of 139.98 million yuan and a loss of 10.18 million yuan from off-season plant shutdowns.

No comparable figure was available for the same period last year, as mainland listed companies were only required to post quarterly results from the start of this year.

Jilin posted a net loss of 1.81 billion yuan last year under international accounting standards - a record annual loss suffered by an H-share company at the time. The loss was due mainly to huge provisions against obsolete inventory and outstanding receivables.

'Considering the loss for the period between January to September this year, the company expects to record a loss for the year of 2002,' it said. 'There is a possibility that the company's A shares will be delisted after continuous losses for three years.'