Two subsidiaries of Asia's largest oil refiner China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) yesterday posted sharply different interim results, with Sinopec Yizheng Chemical Fibre recording an 87.8 per cent year-on-year plunge in net profit and Sinopec Beijing Yanhua Petrochemical posting a 481.2 per cent rise.
Yizheng, the world's fifth-largest polyester maker, made a net profit of 6.84 million yuan (HK$6.47 million), lower than analysts' forecasts. BNP Paribas Peregrine had forecast a profit of 45 million yuan and UBS 13 million yuan.
Yanhua, China's largest maker of resins and plastics, reported a better than expected net profit of 192.23 million yuan. JP Morgan had forecast 190 million yuan, BNP 187 million yuan and UBS 180 million yuan.
BNP Paribas Peregrine head of China research Eva Chu Wen-yee said Yizheng's poor results were largely due to a higher than expected surge in finance costs to 42.09 million yuan in the half, from 9.56 million yuan a year ago.
Turnover rose 27.39 per cent to 4.69 billion yuan.
As the company posted a first-quarter net profit of 63 million yuan based on mainland accounting standards, analysts expected it to plunge into the red in the second half.
