Sinopec profit up 24.1 pct in H1

The net profit of China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec). China's largest oil refiner, rose 24.1 percent in the first half of 2013 from a year earlier, the company said on Sunday.

Its net profit hit 29.42 billion yuan (4.77 billion U.S. dollars) during the six-month period, and its sales revenue grew 5 percent to 1.42 trillion yuan, according to a company statement.

The rises in the company's revenue mainly resulted from the growth in domestic demand for petroleum and chemical products, and the country's improved price formation mechanism for product oil, the statement said.