Sinopec Announces 2014 Interim Results

BEIJING, Aug. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation ("Sinopec" or "the Company") (HKEX: 386; CH: 600028;NYSE: SNP) today announced its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2014.

Financial Highlights:

• In accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), in the first half of 2014, the Company's turnover, other operating revenues and other income was RMB1,356.17 billion, down 4.2% year-on-year. However, the Company still maintained double digit growth in operating profit of RMB52.27 billion, up 11.8% year-on-year. Profit attributable to equity shareholders of the Company was RMB32.54 billion, up 7.5% year-on-year. Basic earnings per share were RMB0.279.
• In accordance with the PRC Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises (ASBE), in the first half of 2014, the Company's operating profit was RMB44.83 billion, up 2.6% year-on-year. Net profit attributable to equity shareholders of the Company was RMB31.43 billion, up 6.8% year-on-year. Basic earnings per share were RMB0.269.

• Net cash flows from operating activities was RMB582.14 billion, up 76.9% year-on-year.

• The Board of Directors proposed an interim dividend of RMB0.09 per share.

Business Highlights:

In the first half of 2014, global economic growth slowed down while China's economy maintained moderate growth. Despite slowing growth in demand for refined oil products and tumbling prices for chemical products, the Company achieved a double digit increase in operating profit, thanks to increased production and sales volume of high quality oil products which led to a year-on-year operating profit growth in its refining and marketing businesses.

• The Company achieved further progress in domestic oil and gas exploration and development.  Sinopec maintained its fast-track momentum in the construction of shale gas capacity in Fuling in the Sichuan Basin. By the end of June, daily shale gas production hit 3.2 million cubic meters. As of the end of 2013, the Company had completed its acquisition of overseas upstream assets from China Petrochemical Corporation, which significantly increased Sinopec's crude production on a year-on-year basis.
• Benefitting from further optimized production structure and increased production of high value-added oil products production such as GB IV & GB V gasoline and diesel production, the refining margin rose 43.4% in the first half of 2014 on a year-on-year basis.
• In the first half of 2014, Sinopec carried out the restructuring and reform of its marketing business as planned. The Company established Sinopec Marketing Company Ltd. and completed the auditing and evaluation of its assets, laying the foundation for marketing business reform. Sinopec established Sinopec Easy Joy Sales Co., Ltd. to take another big step in the development of its non-fuel business. Sinopec significantly increased sales of premium products and recorded 10% growth in non-fuel operating revenues through optimising marketing strategies, expanding retail scale and enhancing integrated service levels for its clients.
• Sinopec proactively responded to the severe market conditions for the chemical industry. The Company adjusted the raw material and product structure, optimised the utilisation rate of its facilities, and shut down non-profitable units.

Fu Chengyu, Chairman of Sinopec said: "Focusing on improving the quality and efficiency of development in the first half of 2014, Sinopec has accelerated business restructuring, emphasizing market-oriented reform and the specialized development of various business lines. Sinopec is committed to building a people-oriented, world-class energy and chemical company as well as enhancing shareholders' long term returns through business transformation and more effective management."

Business Review

Exploration and Production

In the first half of 2014, Sinopec achieved further progress in oil and gas exploration and development by focusing on five key domestic areas. In exploration, the Company made further discoveries in west Sichuan, with a number of  discoveries in the west rim of the Zhungar Basin, the Qintong sag of Jiangsu Province and North Erdos. In development, Sinopec strengthened its efforts in progressive exploration and reservoir characterisation, implemented a number of projects to build oil and gas production capacity and actively carried out gas production capacity building projects in Yuanba, middle-shallow layer of west Sichuan and Daniudi. We sustained our rapid growth in conventional gas production.

In unconventional resource development, we maintained our fast track momentum in the construction of shale gas capacity in Fuling in the Sichuan Basin. By the end of June, average daily shale gas production hit 3.2 million cubic meters. As of the end of 2013, the Company had completed its acquisition of overseas upstream assets from China Petrochemical Corporation, which significantly increased its crude oil production. In the first half of 2014, our oil and gas production was 237.01 million barrels of oil equivalent, up 8.00% from the same period in 2013, of which crude oil was 177.88 million barrels, representing an increase of 7.52% from the same period last year, and natural gas output was 354.8 billion cubic meters, an increase of 9.46%.

Due to lower crude oil realisation and lower overseas sales volumes due to maintenance to our Angola project, operating revenue of the Exploration and Production segment was RMB113.8 billion, representing a decrease of 2.9% over the first half of 2013. The segment operated fairly smoothly in the first half of 2014, realising RMB28.3 billion of operating profit, down 8.7% on a year-on-year basis. This was mainly attributable to lower realized crude price caused by factors including exchange rate fluctuation.

Summary of Operations for the Exploration and Production Segment

Refining

In the first half of 2014, we adjusted our refinery products mix in response to changes in domestic demand; optimised resource allocation and reduced procurement costs of crude oil; strengthened coordination of production and marketing to increase production and export of gasoline, jet fuel and other high-value-added products. We actively promoted quality upgrading in our oil products and significantly increased output of GB IV standard diesel. We took advantage of our centralised marketing for other oil products and increased sales of LPG, asphalt and petroleum wax. In the first half of 2014, we processed 116 million tonnes of crude oil, up 0.32% year-on-year, and increased oil product output by 2.68%, of which gasoline production was up by 9.63%, kerosene up by 19.74% and light yield up by 0.63 percentage points.

Operating revenue for the refining segment was RMB652 billion, up 1.2% year-on-year. Benefitting from further optimized production structure and increased production of high quality oil product, the segment achieved an operating profit of RMB9.8 billion in the first half of 2014, representing an increase of RMB9.5 billion over the same period of 2013, and the refining margin rose 43.4% on a year-on-year basis,

Summary of Operations for the Refining Segment   

Marketing and Distribution

In the first half of 2014, we carried out the restructuring and reform of our marketing business as planned. We established Sinopec Marketing Company Ltd. and completed the auditing and evaluation of its assets and laid the foundations for marketing business reform. We established Sinopec Easy Joy Sales Co., Ltd., as another big step towards the specialized development of our non-fuel business. In light of sufficient market supply and fierce competition, we focused on resource allocation and optimised our marketing strategies to concentrate on premium products. We focused on our customer base and the retail market, enhancing the comprehensive services at Sinopec retail stations and maximized the scale of our retail business. With the launch of our online store for refuelling cards and self-service apps and devices, we improved customer experience by providing a one-stop service. In the first half of 2014, the total sales volume of oil products grew by 0.2% to 88.26 million tonnes, of which domestic sales were 81.04 million tonnes, up 0.4% from the previous year. Retail volume increased by 1.9% to 56.55 million tonnes. Sales from our non-fuel business reached RMB7.19 billion, an increase of 10% from the same period in 2013.

Operating income of the segment was RMB726.9 billion, down 0.8% year-on-year, mainly due to the revenue drop in diesel and fuels oil. Operating profit was RMB18.8 billion, representing an increase of 11.5% over the same period of 2013.

Summary of Operations for Marketing and Distribution Segment

Chemicals Business

In the first half of 2014, facing oversupply in the market, high and volatile feedstock costs and a continued decline in chemical prices, we adjusted our feedstock and product mix as well as the configuration of facilities in order to process more low-cost, light feedstock into high-value-added products. In addition, we strengthened our efforts in the research, development, production and marketing of new products, integrated production with marketing and research and optimised the utilisation rate of facilities while shutting down non-profitable units. Furthermore, we strengthened our supply-chain management to ensure stable production and sales. In the first half of 2014, ethylene production reached 5.084 million tonnes, up 5.0% from the same period in the previous year and chemical sales volume was 29.2 million tonnes, up 4.1% year-on-year.

In the first half of 2014, operating revenue of the chemicals segment was RMB213.4 billion, representing an increase of 0.9% from the same period in 2013. This was primarily due to a 6.4% year-on-year increase in the sales volume of chemical products thanks to proactive marketing activities. Fierce competition in the domestic market and decreased chemical product prices led to an operating loss of RMB4 billion for the reporting period.

Summary of Operations, Chemicals Segment                                                                 

Capital Expenditures

The Company has focused on improving the investment quality and returns and has made progress in a number of key projects. Total capital expenditure in the first half of 2014 was RMB39.186 billion. The Exploration and Production Segment accounted for a capital expenditure of RMB20.743 billion. This was primarily for oil and gas production capacity building, including at the Shengli oil field, Tahe oil field, Yuanba and Daniudi gas fields, Fuling shale gas field, the South Yanchuan Coal-bed-methane project, the Shandong and Guangxi LNG projects as well as at natural gas pipeline projects and overseas upstream projects. The Refining Segment accounted for a capital expenditure of RMB6.592 billion, which primarily supported the completion of revamping projects at the Shijiazhuang, Yangzi, Tahe and Jiujiang refineries and for quality improvements in our oil products. The Chemicals Segment accounted for a capital expenditure of RMB4.67 billion. This was primarily used for the acquisition of equity interests in the Ningdong coal chemical project and an investment in ZhongAn coal-chemical project, as well as to support product mix adjustments and basic chemical projects including Qilu acrylonitrile and Maoming polypropylene projects. The Marketing and Distribution Segment accounted for a capital expenditure of RMB5.83 billion, which primarily supported the building and revamping of service stations and the construction of oil product pipelines and depots. We added 261 new service stations in the first half of 2014. Corporate and Others accounted for a capital expenditure of RMB1.351 billion, which primarily supported R&D facilities and IT projects.

Special Highlights

Fuling Shale Gas Project

Following the significant breakthrough in the Fuling shale gas exploration project and after trial development and appraisal, the Company has set an overall production capacity target of 10 billion cubic meters for the Fuling shale gas field, and a planned capacity of 5 billion cubic meters per year for the first phase. In accordance with the guidance of overall deployment and step-by-step development, the first project in the first phase, which is the North Block development, is scheduled for 2014. This project mainly consists of drilling 91 new wells and constructing shale gas gathering and transmission facilities. The new production capacity is expected to be 1.8 billion cubic meters for this year.

Restructuring of the Marketing Business

In the first half of 2014, the Company accelerated the restructuring of Sinopec Corp.'s marketing business. The establishment, property audit and assessment of Sinopec Marketing Company Ltd., have been completed as planned. The Capital Introduction will be subject to market conditions and will be administered with impartiality, fairness and openness. The process of Capital Introduction will be divided into two phases and will include multiple rounds of bidding and competitive negotiations. The main objectives of the Capital Introduction are to promote and optimize a modern enterprise system, improve its market-oriented operational system and management mechanism, facilitate business innovation and vitality, enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of the enterprise, promote the transformation of Sinopec Marketing from a refined oil products supplier into an integrated services provider and develop Sinopec Marketing into a comprehensive lifestyle services provider which is trusted by consumers and which satisfies the needs of the general public.

Health, Safety, Environment and Low-carbon Growth

We improved and strictly implemented our Safe Production Accountability System, implemented the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard, and initiated safety inspections throughout the Company to identify potential risks and emergency response team building. As a result, we maintained safe production on the whole. The Company increased its efforts in environmental protection, energy conservation, emissions reduction, green and low-carbon growth, and initiated energy performance contracting as well as an energy management system. Our Clean Water and Blue Sky campaign is well underway and is working towards a plan of Double the Energy Efficiency. In the first half of 2014, our chemical oxygen demand (COD) in wastewater discharge fell by 3.84% year-on-year and SO2 emissions fell by 4.73% year-on-year.

Corporate Governance Improvement

During the reporting period, Sinopec Corp. has complied with the applicable securities laws and regulations in and outside mainland China and further improved its corporate governance. Throughout the restructuring of its Marketing and Distribution business, the Company has and continues to strictly following the principles of public, fair, impartial and transparent. The Company has also provided training to newly appointed members of senior management in order to support the performance of their duties. The independent non-executive directors strengthened their communication with management and the external auditors and actively participated in the on-site research and evaluation of the subsidiaries. Sinopec Corp. has actively strengthened its internal control system, which has been implemented effectively, it has organised several reverse roadshows and has achieved continued improvements in relation to the information disclosure and investor relations. The Company initiates and leads green and low carbon development, and launches Energy Conservation Campaign. Sinopec Corp. continuously acts as Chairman of UNGC China Network and proactively supports its 2014 Caring for Climate China Summit. As at the date of this report, the Company has established the Policy Concerning Diversity of Board Members aiming to help maintain rational board structure and revised the Insiders' Registration Rules for the Company aiming to strengthen the management of Insiders.

Business Prospects

In the second half of the year, we expect the global economic recovery to slow while China will maintain steady economic growth. We expect international oil prices to fluctuate at a high level during the second half of 2014. Domestic demand for oil products, especially for gasoline, is expected to grow rapidly and demand for chemicals to grow slightly.

We will focus on efficiency and profitability based on market dynamics and on safety and reliable operations. To achieve full-year production and operation targets, we will undertake initiatives in the following key areas:

In exploration and production, we will promote efficient and effective exploration in frontier areas, secure acreage for commercial development, continuously advance overseas crude oil development, and step up capacity building in Yuanba, Daniudi, middle-shallow layer of west Sichuan and Fuling shale gas projects.

In refining, we will optimise procurement and allocation of crude oil to reduce costs. We will readjust our product mix and raise the output of high-value-added products. We will continue to upgrade the quality of oil products including our GB IV highway diesel and GB V gasoline, and will strengthen the marketing of LPG, asphalt and petroleum wax.

In marketing and distribution, we will push forward the reform and restructuring of our marketing business. We will optimise resources allocation, improve business efficiency, and take full advantage of our brand and existing network to expand retail volume. We will promote market-oriented development of non-fuel and other emerging businesses, and enhance the value-creation capability of our sales network.

In chemicals, we will take advantage of integration production, and further adjust our feedstock to reduce costs, modify our product mix and unit structure through better integration of production, marketing and research to produce more marketable products. We will also strengthen business operations and marketing optimisation to further enhance marketing ability.

Appendix

Principal financial data and indicators

The following table sets forth the operating revenues, operating expenses and operating profit/(loss) by each segment before elimination of the inter-segment transactions for the periods indicated, and the changes between the first half of 2014 and the first half of 2013.

About Sinopec:

Sinopec Corp. is one of the largest integrated energy and chemical companies in China. Its principal operations include the exploration and production, pipeline transportation and sale of petroleum and natural gas; the sale, storage and transportation of petroleum products, petrochemical products, coal chemical products, synthetic fibre, fertiliser and other chemical products; the import and export, including an import and export agency business, of petroleum, natural gas, petroleum products, petrochemical and chemical products, and other commodities and technologies; and research, development and application of technologies and information.

Sinopec sets 'powering beautiful life' as its corporate mission, puts 'people, responsibility, integrity, precision, innovation and win-win' as its corporate core values, pursues a strategy of resources, markets, integration, international operation, differentiation, and low-carbon, and strives to achieve its corporate vision of building a world leading energy and chemical company.

Disclaimer:

This press release includes "forward-looking statements". All statements, other than statements of historical facts that address activities, events or developments that Sinopec Corp. expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including but not limited to projections, targets, reserve volume, other estimates and business plans) are forward-looking statements. Sinopec Corp.'s actual results or developments may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors and uncertainties, including but not limited to the price fluctuation, possible changes in actual demand, foreign exchange rate, results of oil exploration, estimates of oil and gas reserves, market shares, competition, environmental risks, possible changes to laws, finance and regulations, conditions of the global economy and financial markets, political risks, possible delay of projects, government approval of projects, cost estimates and other factors beyond Sinopec Corp.'s control. In addition, Sinopec Corp. makes the forward-looking statements referred to herein as of today and undertakes no obligation to update these statements.

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