OREANDA-NEWS. September 10, 2013. Moody ' s Investors Service says China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation ' s (Sinopec Corp) first half results continue to support its Aa3 issuer rating and stable outlook.

Moody ' s vice-president, senior credit officer, Simon Wong said: "Sinopec Corp ' s 1H 2013 results show improvements driven mainly by the continued reform of the refined oil price mechanism in China."

Sinopec Corp ' s operating profit improved by 16.6% to RMB46.7bn from the corresponding period last year. Under the reformed price mechanism, improvements in the company ' s refining segment offset the lower operating profit of its E&P segment. The latter was affected by lower crude oil prices and higher operating costs.

Sinopec Corp ' s average refining margin in 1H 2013 was USD4.57/barrel, which was more than eight times higher than the USD 0.55/barrel reported in 1H 2012 and its refinery business reported a small operating profit compared to a loss of RMB18.5bn in H1 2012.