SK Innovation’s Q4 profit misses estimates on output cut after maintenance shutdown at petrochemicals plant

21-Jan-11

SK Innovation Co., South Korea’s biggest oil refiner, posted Q4 profit that missed analyst estimates after maintenance shutdown at a petrochemicals plant cut output, as per Bloomberg. Net income was 211.8 billion won (US$189 mln) in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with a 117 bln won loss a year earlier. The company’s biggest naphtha cracker for producing ethylene was shut for a month starting Oct. 4. The plant accounts for 76% of SK’s petrochemical capacity. However, the shutdown did not prevent the company’s oil refining division swinging to an operating profit in the quarter as margins improved. Operating profit in SK Innovation’s petrochemical business dropped 86% because of the cracker shutdown. The company’s oil exploration division posted a 29% gain in operating profit on higher crude prices and daily production.