3 Major Japanese Oil Wholesalers Log Net Profit Decreases

Tokyo, Nov. 14 (Jiji Press)--Three major Japanese oil wholesalers have logged year-on-year decreases in consolidated net profits for the six months through September, according to their earnings reports released recently.

The declines reflected lower oil inventory valuations that followed sluggish crude oil prices.

Oil wholesalers are obligated to store petroleum products by law. They incur valuation losses when crude oil prices fall.

Net profit at Eneos Holdings Inc. dropped 60.3 pct to 68.1 billion yen. Idemitsu Kosan Co. posted a 39.7 pct drop to 99.4 billion yen, and Cosmo Energy Holdings Co. a 56.1 pct fall to 20.6 billion yen.

Sales of some petrochemical products are sluggish due to a Chinese economic slowdown. The petrochemical sector is unlikely to improve drastically anytime soon, Shunichi Kito, president and CEO of Idemitsu Kosan, told a press conference Tuesday.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]