tyb/s
World’s 2nd Largest Oil Company Sees Huge Drop In Profit
Sinopec reported a 76-percent drop in its latest quarterly profit for October-December 2018, which is the lowest since at least the third quarter of 2016, Reuters reports, citing the company.
However, the bad news was not a result of the company’s normal operations but of derivatives trading losses incurred by its trading arm Unipec. The division booked net losses of US$690 million (4.65 billion yuan) in the fourth quarter of last year on bad oil hedging bets. This pressed the parent company’s net result to US$461.57 million (3.1 billion yuan) despite a 33-percent increase in revenues during the three-month period, as calculated by Reuters.
In refining specifically, China’s top refiner reported even worse profit figures, according to Bloomberg calculations. This fell by as much as 90 percent in the fourth quarter
For the full year, however, things looked much better in the profit department, with Sinopec reporting a 23-percent annual rise and solid growth in revenues. The improvements, like the better results of other oil companies, came on the back of higher oil prices.
(imagine if oil prices return to where they were a few short months ago what these results might be)
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Worlds-2nd-Largest-Oil-Company-Sees-Huge-Drop-In-Profit.html
original reuters article
https://www.reuters.com/article/china-sinopec-results-idUSL3N2111F6
wow! that is great, similar conditions but that is nothing new-friend of mine near montreal is still sucking it big time at 25d. sent a pic of blossoms here to cheer them up. sending red-pills too. seems to be working as the slow boil continues.
pemex has the same problem and a lot less control over it. pepe just reports and does not write the headlines.
Goldman's Apple pairing furthers bank's mass-market ambitions
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc’s credit card deal with Apple Inc is the latest move by the Wall Street investment bank to court mass-market consumers, potentially connecting Goldman with hundreds of millions of iPhone users.
But Goldman is entering a crowded market for co-branded cards where retailers often have the upper hand, and analysts question how much tolerance its shareholders will have for growing the bank’s fledgling consumer business through credit card lending.
Goldman has been courting consumers since the 2016 launch of its online bank Marcus, and with its first credit card it is targeting fee-conscious ones. There will be no annual or late fees, and customers will pay variable annual interest rates of between 13.24 percent and 24.24 percent, according to Apple’s website.
Apple and Goldman did not disclose the economic terms of their partnership when it was announced on Monday.
But banks have been increasingly willing to take less favorable deals because post-financial crisis regulations make the credit card business attractive for lenders, which are required to hold less capital against such debt than against other assets.
Issuing banks retain control of approving customers for cards, often using data the retailer has on shoppers as part of the process, the person said.
Goldman Chief Executive David Solomon said in an email to employees on Monday that the card is a “major step” in the bank’s plan to grow its consumer business.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-goldman-sachs-apple-card-idUSKCN1R72NS