S-Oil turns to profits in Q4 on weakening Korean won

S-Oil, Korea's third-largest refiner by sales, said Monday it turned to net profit in the fourth quarter on a weakening Korean won. Its fourth-quarter net profit reached 265 billion won ($183 million) for the October-December period, turning from a loss of 131.7 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit came to 424.5 billion won, up 90.9 percent from a year ago, while revenue fell 1.4 percent to 8.79 trillion won. The earnings fell behind market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 278.1 billion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. The company attributed the improved bottom line to a weaker local currency, which boosted won-denominated profits. Its flagship refining business posted a more than 50 percent on-year increase on seasonal demand and lower crude oil prices, while the petrochemical division remained in the red. S-Oil said steady global demand and low crude oil prices are expected to influence its refining business in the first quarter.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times