(LEAD) S-Oil reports 80.5 pct fall in Q2 earnings

(ATTN: RECASTS lead; ADDS more details from para 5)
By Nam Kwang-sik
SEOUL, July 31 (Yonhap) -- S-Oil Corp., South Korea's third-largest refiner, said
Friday that its net income fell 80.5 percent in the second quarter from a year
earlier due to decreased refining margins and routine plant maintenance.

Net profit came to 71 billion won (US$57.6 million) in the April-June period,
compared with 368.6 billion won a year ago, S-Oil said in a regulatory filing.
Sales dropped 37.6 percent year-on-year to 4.07 trillion won during the same
period and operating profit nearly halved to 42.2 billion won.
Shares of S-Oil fell 0.68 percent to 58,100 won as of 10:10 a.m. on the Seoul
bourse.
"The lackluster second-quarter performance was blamed on a decreased refining
margin stemming from international crude prices and routine maintenance of
plants," S-Oil said in a statement.
The company predicts that the oil refining sector will make a comback from the
fourth-quarter on the back of an expected increase in demand in Asian countries.
It also projected a bright outlook for its petrochemical and lubricant sectors in
the second-half of the year on expectations that demand for benzene and lubricant
oil will increase.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
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