Sinopec Posts Record Profit

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (aka Sinopec) said its half-year earnings jumped to the highest level on record, as refining profits climbed and a rebound in crude prices brought its oil and gas exploration unit closer to breaking even. Net income reached 42.4 billion yuan ($6.2 billion) in the first six months from 27.9 billion a year earlier, the world’s biggest refiner said in a filing to Shanghai Stock Exchange on Sunday, Bloomberg reported. That is the best half-year profit on record, according to data compiled by Bloomberg dating back to 2000. Sinopec flagged the jump in first-half earnings in a profit alert last month, adding that its upstream business had improved significantly on higher international oil prices. “Good cost control and better margins from selling higher-grade fuel products helped offset higher oil purchase prices for Sinopec’s refining business,” said Tian Miao, a Beijing-based analyst at Everbright Sun Hung Kai Company.