April 20, 2024
Industrials
Oil refiners post record earnings in 2016
[THE INVESTOR] Oil refiners in South Korea racked up record earnings last year on the back of improved cracking margins, inventory gains and solid demand for petrochemical products, industry data showed on Feb. 10.
SK Innovation, GS Caltex, S-Oil, and Hyundai Oilbank logged a combined operating income of 8.03 trillion won (US$6.96 billion) last year, which is an all-time high.
Industry leader SK Innovation already posted a record operating income of 3.23 trillion won last year, while No. 2 GS Caltex logged an operating income of 2.14 trillion won. S-Oil also chalked up a record operating income of 1.69 trillion won, with the comparable figure for Hyundai Oilbank being 966 billion won.
“Local refiners enjoyed higher cracking margins on the back of relatively high prices and firm demand,” said Yoon Jae-sung, an analyst at Hana Investment & Securities.
According to the analyst, the oil refiners diversified business portfolio and improved facilities played a major role in their record earnings. SK Innovation notched up more than 1 trillion won in operating income from its petrochemical business, with the portion rising to 54 percent of the total operating income. S-Oil also enjoyed a hefty rise in its operating income from its petrochemical unit as its operating income from the business surged 80 percent on-year last year to 517 billion won.
(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)
SK Innovation, GS Caltex, S-Oil, and Hyundai Oilbank logged a combined operating income of 8.03 trillion won (US$6.96 billion) last year, which is an all-time high.
Industry leader SK Innovation already posted a record operating income of 3.23 trillion won last year, while No. 2 GS Caltex logged an operating income of 2.14 trillion won. S-Oil also chalked up a record operating income of 1.69 trillion won, with the comparable figure for Hyundai Oilbank being 966 billion won.
“Local refiners enjoyed higher cracking margins on the back of relatively high prices and firm demand,” said Yoon Jae-sung, an analyst at Hana Investment & Securities.
According to the analyst, the oil refiners diversified business portfolio and improved facilities played a major role in their record earnings. SK Innovation notched up more than 1 trillion won in operating income from its petrochemical business, with the portion rising to 54 percent of the total operating income. S-Oil also enjoyed a hefty rise in its operating income from its petrochemical unit as its operating income from the business surged 80 percent on-year last year to 517 billion won.
(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)
