August 26, 2024 [Reuters]- China’s Sinopec posted a 2.6% rise in net profit for the first half of the year, it said on Sunday, as rising oil prices boosted income.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp as Sinopec is officially known, reported on Sunday a net income of 37.1 billion yuan ($5.21 billion) for January to June, according to a filing with the Shanghai stock exchange.

Sinopec, the world’s largest oil refiner by capacity, saw its sales fall 1.1% to 1.58 trillion yuan.

Meanwhile, production of ethylene, a key building block for petrochemicals, fell 5.5% during the first half.

Capital expenditure was 55.9 billion yuan for the period.

Crude oil output rose 0.6% on the year to 140.53 million barrels, Sinopec previously reported, while natural gas production rose 6% to 700.57 billion cubic feet.

The company processed 126.69 million metric tons of crude oil, about 5.08 million barrels per day (bpd), up 0.1% from the same period last year, it said in a stock market filing in July.

That compared with 1.7% growth in the first quarter. The slowdown was driven by higher crude prices and tepid domestic fuel demand.

(This story has been corrected to say that Sinopec H1 profit rose 2.6%, not 2.7% and removes the reference to figures based on Chinese standards)

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