[THE INVESTOR] SK Innovation said on July 27 that its second-quarter earnings almost halved from a year earlier.

Net profit stood at 292 billion won (US$262 million) on a consolidated basis in the April-June months, compared with a profit of 626 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Operating income plunged 62.4 percent on-year to reach 421 billion won, with sales rising 2.7 percent to 10.56 trillion won over the cited period.

The refiner said low oil prices led to an increase in inventory losses, which sharply dented its bottom line. Such a slump was partly offset by a growth in its petrochemical business, SK Innovation said.

Its refining business logged an operating income of 12.5 billion won in the second quarter, a sharp decline from 414 billion won the previous quarter.

Its lubricant business posted an operating income of 120 billion won during the April-June period, up 25.3 billion won from the previous quarter.

In the first six months of the year, SK Innovation racked up an operating income of 1.43 trillion won on sales of 21.95 trillion won.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)