Q3 2026 earnings

GS Caltex operating profit up 208% on-year

'Soaring crude import costs limit profitability gains'

GS Tower in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul. [GS]
GS Tower in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul. [GS]

GS posted third-quarter sales of 7.27 trillion won ($5.42 billion) and operating profit of 1.27 trillion won Thursday, up 11 percent and 66 percent, respectively, from a year earlier. GS Caltex drove the gains amid a tight petroleum product supply, while other major subsidiaries also delivered solid results.

Refining subsidiary GS Caltex recorded third-quarter sales of 17.76 trillion won, up 61 percent on-year, and operating profit of 1.14 trillion won, a 208 percent increase. Within that, the refining segment's operating profit reached 696.8 billion won as refining margins remained strong. The lubricants segment also benefited from supply tightness, posting operating profit of 448.9 billion won.

GS Caltex said, however, that the Middle East war has weighed on its profitability. "An unprecedented surge in global maritime freight rates — including shipping costs and insurance premiums — has driven up crude import costs, particularly limiting the actual profitability gains of refiners with high dependence on Middle Eastern crude," a GS Caltex official said.

The petrochemical segment posted sales of 2.42 trillion won and an operating loss of 1 billion won, as disruptions to naphtha and crude procurement combined with the fading of a first-half lagging effect. "The petrochemical segment was unable to fully pass on rising naphtha prices, extending its loss into another quarter," a GS Caltex official said.

By product, spreads for paraxylene and benzene improved slightly as production facility utilization rates were adjusted, while ethylene spreads narrowed under pressure from higher naphtha prices.

Energy subsidiary GS Energy posted sales of 1.99 trillion won, up 38 percent on-year, and operating profit of 1.02 trillion won, up 70 percent, as equity-method gains from GS Caltex — in which it holds a 50 percent stake — expanded.

A GS official said uncertainty would persist into the fourth quarter. "Oil price volatility tied to Middle East conditions and the recent sharp rise in crude shipping rates will continue to create uncertainty," the official said. "How flexibly we respond to changes in the market environment will determine our performance."


klee@heraldcorp.com