China’s Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical (0338) swung to a net loss in the first half of 2025 as weaker demand hit sales of refining and chemical products, the company reported late Wednesday.
Sinopec reported a net loss of 462.1 million yuan (HK$503 million) for the period from January to June, according to the report. That compares with 27.9 million yuan profit the prior year.
Net sales were 33.498 billion yuan, down 10.66 percent year-on-year, with net sales of refining products and chemicals falling 16.14 percent and 3.21 percent, respectively.
The company said the market remains challenging, with strong supply and weak demand, rising penetration of new-energy vehicles squeezing fuel demand, and the chemical sector still at a cyclical low.
Weaker market demand drove a 6.72 percent decline in refining product sales volumes. With crude prices falling, weighted average selling prices across all segments also declined from a year earlier, the company said.
Refinery throughput was 6.33 million metric tons in the six-month period, down 4.93 percent year-on-year.
Diesel production fell 13.56 percent and aviation fuel declined 8.62 percent year-on-year, while gasoline slightly rose 0.14 percent.
Output of ethylene, a key building block for petrochemicals, rose 24.34 percent to 273,300 tons in the first half.
Capital expenditure was 408 million yuan in the first half of 2025, mainly allocated to construction work for the Shanghai Petrochemical cogeneration unit clean-efficiency upgrade.
Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical’s Shanghai-listed shares closed at 2.90 yuan on Wednesday, up 1.75 percent on the day. The stock is down 4.3 percent year-to-date, while the SSE Composite Index has risen 12.37 percent over the same period.
Reuters
