The Chinese company Sinopec announced on Thursday that its net profits rose by 57.2 percent on an annual basis during the third quarter, supported by improved refining margins and higher crude oil prices, which partially offset the decline in demand for fuel.
The company, which is the largest oil refinery in the world in terms of production capacity, reported that its net profits amounted to 13.36 billion yuan ($2.01 billion) during the period from July to September. Its net profits during the first nine months of the year rose to 38.99 billion yuan, an increase of 30 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, according to Reuters.
Sinopec processed 167.37 million metric tons of crude oil during the first nine months, equivalent to about 4.48 million barrels per day, a decrease of 10.2 percent year on year.
Diesel production recorded the largest decline among the main products, as it fell by 9.2 percent, while gasoline production fell by 6.4 percent, and jet fuel by 5.9 percent.
Also, refined fuel sales decreased by 11.4 percent during the same period, reaching 151.91 million metric tons, of which 118.90 million tons were from domestic sales, a decline of 10.7 percent.
Despite the decline in sales, the refining sector achieved earnings before interest and taxes amounting to 30.10 billion yuan during the first nine months of the year, compared to about 7 billion yuan in the corresponding period of the previous year, which reflects a noticeable improvement in the sector’s performance.
On the other hand, ethylene production declined by 19 percent, while the chemicals sector recorded losses before interest and taxes amounting to 1.69 billion yuan during the same period, compared to losses of 8.22 billion yuan in the previous year.
Sinopec explained that refined fuel consumption in China decreased by 8.6 percent on an annual basis during the first nine months of the year, in light of the pressures resulting from high oil prices and the acceleration of the shift towards alternative energy sources, which limited demand.
In contrast, natural gas consumption in China rose slightly by 0.1 percent, while ethylene equivalent consumption fell by 9.4 percent, amid weak demand for chemical products.
In production activities, Sinopec's crude oil production decreased by 0.1 percent on an annual basis, reaching 210.99 million barrels during the first three quarters of the year, while natural gas production increased by 1.4 percent to 1,115.21 billion cubic feet.
The company's capital spending during the first nine months also increased to 74.5 billion yuan, compared to 71.6 billion yuan in the same period of the previous year.
Exploration and development activities accounted for 56.8 percent of total capital spending, and included oil projects in the Jieyang regions in eastern China and Tahe in the northwest of the country, in addition to natural gas projects in Sichuan and Chongqing provinces.
In the financial markets, Sinopec shares listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange fell by 1.93 percent since the beginning of the year until the close of trading on Thursday, while the Hang Seng Index fell by 10.42 percent during the same period.
The ESR Group and Al-Muhaidib Group intend to invest up to $5 billion (18.75 billion riyals) in the industrial and logistics sectors in Saudi Arabia during the next five years, through a joint project equally between the two parties to develop, own and manage industrial and logistical real estate assets.
On Thursday, the two groups announced the establishment of the project, which aims to develop new projects and implement value-added strategic acquisitions in the main markets in the Kingdom, including Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, and will begin its operational operations during the first quarter of 2027.
The project combines the experience of “ESR”, which specializes in the ownership and management of real estate assets in the Asia-Pacific region, and the “Al Muhaidib” Group’s experience in development and operation and its knowledge of the local market, in addition to its portfolio of strategic lands.
The project aims to develop industrial and logistics facilities with international specifications, including facilities designed according to the needs of companies, and multi-stage logistics complexes linked to ports, airports, railway networks and industrial cities, in response to the demand for modern logistics infrastructure in the Kingdom.
Stuart Gibson, co-founder and co-CEO of ESR Group, said that Saudi Arabia represents one of the attractive markets for investment in the industrial and logistics sectors, in light of industrial expansion and the development of supply chains and trade corridors, indicating that the partnership aims to provide long-term investment opportunities for institutional investors.
For his part, Issam Al-Muhaidib, CEO of Al-Muhaidib Group, said that the partnership combines the group’s experience in the local markets, its development capabilities, and the global expertise of “ESR”, with the aim of providing industrial and logistical solutions that support industrial expansion, and strengthen the Kingdom’s position as a global logistics center, in line with the objectives of “Vision 2030”.
According to the two groups, the project's structure will allow attracting institutional capital from local, regional and global markets, with both parties investing in the project and cooperating in developing and implementing its assets, in accordance with Category A standards approved by ESR.
The results of structural business statistics in Saudi Arabia for the year 2025 revealed that manufacturing activities topped the revenues of the business sector, accounting for 30.5 percent of total operating revenues, while the construction and wholesale and retail trade sectors maintained the lead position in absorbing workers, with a total share of 44.8 percent.
The results issued by the General Authority for Statistics on Thursday showed an annual growth in operating revenues by 2.3 percent, compared to an increase in operating expenses by 4 percent, in addition to an increase in workers’ compensation by 6 percent, which reflects a disparity in the performance of economic activities between generating revenues and attracting the workforce.
The results revealed that total operating revenues reached 5.6 billion riyals ($1.5 billion), while total operating expenses reached 2.4 billion riyals ($640 million), with a growth rate of 4 percent.
Operating surplus
On the other hand, the value of total fixed capital formation reached 992 billion riyals ($264.5 billion), achieving an annual growth of 0.4 percent, while employee compensation exceeded 624 billion riyals ($166.4 billion), with a growth rate of 6 percent, compared to 2.5 billion riyals ($666.6 million) for operating surplus, with an annual decline rate of 0.1 percent.
Looking at the relative distribution of workers during the past year, it is clear that construction and wholesale and retail trade activities lead the total number of workers. These two activities alone account for about 44.8 percent of the total, with 22.6 percent for construction and 22.2 percent for wholesale and retail trade.
Manufacturing industry activities contributed to total operating revenues by 30.5 percent, followed by wholesale and retail trade, 18 percent, then mining and quarrying activities, 16.6 percent, then construction activities, 9.2 percent, followed by finance, insurance, information, and communications activities, as well as transportation and storage activities, with contributions of 4.8 percent, 4.5 percent, and 3.4 percent, respectively, while other economic activities combined contributed about 13.1 percent.
Electricity supply
The results of operating revenues for the year 2025 witnessed a general positive increase for most economic activities. The activity of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supplies topped the list of the most growing activities with a rate of 14.2 percent, followed by wholesale and retail trade, real estate activities, and construction, with similar growth rates of more than 9.8 percent, while mining and quarrying activities recorded a decrease of 11.8 percent.
Manufacturing industry activities accounted for 40.1 percent of total operating expenses, followed by wholesale and retail trade, 23.3 percent, construction, 8.1 percent, information and communications activities, 5.1 percent, followed by mining and quarrying, 4.5 percent.
Transportation, storage, financial, and insurance activities recorded a rate of 3.3 percent each, while the rest of the other economic activities combined constituted a rate of 12.3 percent of the total operating expenses.
Salaries and wages
Manufacturing industry activities contributed 22.2 percent of the total compensation of workers, followed by construction, 13.6 percent, then wholesale and retail trade, 13.5 percent, then mining and quarrying activities, 9.2 percent, followed by financial and insurance activities, transportation and storage, and information and communications, with contributions of 6.8 percent, 5.5 percent, and 5.4 percent, respectively, while economic activities contributed The others combined amounted to about 23.8 percent.
On the other hand, the value of salaries and wages amounted to 528.9 billion riyals ($1.4 billion), representing 84.8 percent of the total compensation of employees, while the value of benefits and allowances reached 95.1 billion riyals ($25.3 billion), constituting 15.2 percent of the total compensation.
