China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, known as Sinopec, reported on Sunday that first-half net profit under Chinese accounting standards rose 19.3% from a year earlier to 25.63 billion yuan, or about $3.81 billion. The result came despite weaker domestic fuel demand, volatile oil prices and disruption to Middle Eastern supplies, making the performance a significant test of resilience for the world's largest refiner.
Revenue for the six months through June increased 2.0% to 1.44 trillion yuan, while operating cash flow gained 2.4% to 62.50 billion yuan, according to the company's interim statement. Under international accounting standards, profit attributable to shareholders was 26.57 billion yuan, up 11.9%, reflecting differences between the two reporting systems.
Sinopec processed 113.31 million tonnes of crude, equivalent to about 4.57 million barrels a day and 5.6% less than a year earlier. The company said China's refined-fuel consumption fell 8.6% as high prices discouraged use and new energy alternatives expanded; gasoline demand declined 7.9%, diesel 11.5%, while jet-fuel consumption increased 1.3%.
Refining nevertheless supplied the strongest improvement. The segment's operating profit surged 381.5% to 17.0 billion yuan as Sinopec broadened purchases beyond the Middle East, adjusted procurement timing and shifted production toward more profitable products. Its refining margin increased 44.1% to 453 yuan per tonne, although the group also booked 16 billion yuan of asset-impairment provisions amid oil and fuel price volatility.
The figures underline how sourcing and product choices partially offset exposure to the Middle East, which normally supplies about half of Sinopec's crude needs. Upstream operating profit rose 21.5% to 28.7 billion yuan as higher oil prices supported earnings, but the chemicals division remained loss-making amid excess capacity and weak demand, even as its loss narrowed substantially.
Sinopec's board approved an interim dividend of 0.105 yuan per share, equal to a 49.5% payout ratio under Chinese standards, and began another share-repurchase round. For July through December, the company projects crude throughput of about 113 million tonnes, broadly matching the first half, leaving demand, oil-price swings and supply security as the central variables for the rest of 2026.
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