(LEAD) SK Innovation shifts to loss in Q4 on high oil prices

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SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Yonhap) -- SK Innovation Co., South Korea's largest refiner by sales, said Friday it swung to a net loss in the fourth quarter due to higher costs.

For the October-December period, SK Innovation posted a net loss of 479.99 billion won (US$403 million), shifting from a net profit of 261.69 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

"For Asian refiners, oil purchasing prices were particularly high in the fourth quarter due to political tensions between the United States and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz," a company spokesperson said.

The company wasn't able to pass on most of the rise in oil prices to customers, she said.

The company also shifted to an operating loss of 122.45 billion won in the fourth quarter from an operating profit of 285.49 billion won a year earlier. Sales fell 15 percent 11.79 trillion won from 13.87 trillion won over the cited period, it said.

For the whole of 2019, net profit nosedived to 65.78 billion won from 1.69 trillion won a year earlier. Operating profit plunged 40 percent to 1.27 trillion won from 2.1 trillion won, while sales fell 8 percent to 49.88 trillion won from 54.22 trillion won.

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