Profit time

Shanghai, Aug. 28 (AP): China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, Asia’s largest refinery by capacity, said today its first-half net profit climbed 8.9 per cent from a year earlier, as high crude prices offset losses in its refining division.

The company, commonly known as Sinopec, said its net profit for the six months ended June 30 was $2.7 billion, up from $2.5 billion in the first half of 2005, based on international accounting standards.

Revenues rose to $60.5 billion from $45 billion a year earlier.

China’s refineries have generally been unable to pass higher costs from high crude oil prices on to consumers due to domestic price controls.

But an expansion in Sinopec’s resource holdings, combined with surging oil prices, helped make up for losses in refining.

“This allowed us to deliver satisfactory structural reforms and operating performance,” Chen Tonghai, Sinopec’s chairman, said in a statement.