Investing.com -- China's Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd Class A (SS:600688) posted a 19.3% year-on-year rise in net profit for the first half of 2026, the company said in a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange on Sunday.
Net profit for the January-June period reached 25.63 billion yuan ($3.81 billion) under Chinese accounting standards, up from 21.48 billion yuan in the same period last year.
The state-owned refiner recorded a 16 billion yuan provision for asset impairment due to volatility in oil and fuel prices during the six-month period, according to a separate filing.
Sinopec processed 113.31 million metric tons of crude oil between January and June, equal to 4.57 million barrels per day. This represented a 5.6% decline compared to the year-ago period.
The company's refining margin increased 44.1% year-on-year in the first half, rising 139 yuan per metric ton to 453 yuan per metric ton.
Operating profit in the refining segment grew 381.5% by expanding crude oil sourcing outside the Middle East, managing purchase timing according to market conditions, and adjusting its product mix based on profitability, the filing stated.
Sinopec sources half of its crude oil needs from the Middle East. The Strait of Hormuz, a key route for the company's oil imports, has remained largely closed since March.
Domestic demand for fuel has fallen during the period, while Beijing has limited the company's ability to pass higher oil costs to consumers through fuel price increases.
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