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Bloomberg
Sinopec said its first-quarter profit declined 20 percent amid lower crude prices and shrinking refining earnings.
Net income dropped to 15.47 billion yuan ($2.3 billion) from 19.31 billion a year ago, the company said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange, using international accounting standards.
A drop in oil prices typically drags down the value of the company’s inventories, which was seen in the 37 percent slump in operating profit from its key refining business to 11.96 billion yuan. The company, known officially as China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, turned its exploration and production business around.
The segment realised an operating profit of 2.14 billion yuan compared with losses of 318 million yuan the year before. It’s the first time the
upstream unit has been profitable since the fourth quarter of 2014.
China’s energy producers are under pressure to raise capital expenditures to boost domestic output.