Formosa Petrochemical posts 20% rise in Q2 profits

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPCC) posted a 20% rise in its second-quarter operating profits on strong refining growth, the company said on Friday.

Operating profits in the second quarter totalled New Taiwan dollars (NT$) 21.4bn ($645.6m), up from NT$17.8bn in the same period a year ago, it said, adding sales rose 9% to NT$160.5bn.

In the refining segment, operating profits rose 41% to NT$17.6bn in the second quarter, from the same period of 2006 as sales increased 4% to NT$126.1bn.

However, the operating profits for its olefins division fell 35% to NT$2.3bn, even though sales rose 23% to NT$43.1bn.

The company has scheduled a turnaround  from September to October for its No 2 cracker, which has an ethylene capacity of 1.035m tonnes/year.

On Friday, the company’s stock price rose 2.7% to NT$92 on the close of the Taiwan Stock Exchange.