Sinopec's 3Q earnings fall 52.1% on lower oil prices, refining margins
Chinese refiner Sinopec posted a 52.1% year-on-year decline in net profit to 8.54 B yuan ($1.2 B) for the third quarter because of lower oil prices and weak refining margins.
The world's largest refiner by capacity, Sinopec's third-quarter revenue was 790.4 B yuan, down 9.8% from a year earlier, the company said in a stock market filing on Monday.
Also on Monday, domestic peer and offshore oil and gas major CNOOC Ltd. reported a 9% increase in quarterly profit to 36.93 B yuan as higher output offset lower prices.
Between January and September, Sinopec processed 190.69 MM tonnes of crude oil, or 5.08 MMbpd, down 1.6% from a year earlier, while refined fuel output fell 0.8% to 116.6 MMt.
Refinery output was dragged down by a drop in diesel production, which fell 10.7% to 43.29 MMt. Gasoline output rose 4.1% to 49.21 MMt and jet fuel gained 10.5% to 24.1 MMt.
Sales of refined fuels rose 0.6% year-on-year in the first nine months to 181.67 MMt. Of that, domestic sales made up 138.06 MMt, down 3.2%.
The company said China's apparent consumption of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel fell 1% during the first nine months, dragged down by falling diesel demand. Domestic consumption of natural gas rose 9.5% during the period and ethylene consumption grew 3.9%.
Sinopec also produced 211.29 MMt of crude oil during the first three quarters of 2024, up 0.3% on the year, while natural gas output rose 5.6% to 1,048 Mft3.
Capital expenditure for the first nine months reached 86.35 B yuan, down from 108.16 B in the year-earlier period. Of that, 50.77 B went to exploration and development, primarily at the company's pilot shale oil field in eastern China's Jiyang, its Tahe oilfield in Xinjiang, and its Chuanxi gas field in Sichuan.
The chemicals segment also dragged down the results, incurring a net loss of 4.9 B yuan.
Sinopec's Hong Kong-listed shares have risen 10.27% year-to-date, underperforming the Hang Seng index which has risen 20.84% during the period.
(metric ton = 7.3 barrels for crude oil conversion)
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