South Korean refiner S-Oil saw profit from its base oils and lubricants unit fall in the second quarter of the year as scheduled plant maintenance work slashed output by more than a quarter.The size of the drop in sales was much smaller, and the fall in profit even smaller, amid a rebound in regional base oils prices relative to crude and diesel.The unit’s operating profit of 246.5bn South Korean Won ($192mn) in the three months to end-June fell by 5pc from W258.9bn during the same period a year earlier.Profit jumped by 26pc from the first three months of the year even as base oils output of around 400,000t in the second quarter fell from 530,000t during the first three months of the year.Base oils output fell because of maintenance work on S-Oil’s Group III base oils unit from May to July.The lower output also impacted base oils and lube sales, which fell by 9pc in the second quarter from year-earlier levels.Sales still rose by 6pc from the first three months of the year.Profit and sales got a boost from a rise in regional Group II base oils values relative to crude in the second quarter to a nine-month high.The premium of regional Group III prices over crude held close to its highest in more than two years.With profit rising faster than costs, the base oil unit’s profit margin rose to 30.4pc in the second quarter of the year. The margin was up from 25.7pc in the first three months of the year.The strong earnings left S-Oil’s base oils unit the most profitable of all its units in three of the last four quarters..SK Enmove’s Q2 lube profit rises
