SHANGHAI April 28-Major oil and gas producer PetroChina posted a 71.2% year-on-year surge in its first-quarter net profit to yuan (CNY) 32.5bn ($4.76bn), largely due to spikes in crude prices and better demand for petroleum and petrochemical products.
In a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), PetroChina said that the average realised price for crude oil soared 88.7% year on year to $70.01/bbl (?3.2/bbl) during the period.
Total turnover for the group was up 75% at CNY318.8bn
This is a redeeming set of results following the modest earnings decline suffered in 2009, said Gordon Kwan, Hong Kong-based head of regional energy research at Mirae Asset Securities.
Kwan said PetroChina s earnings were restored back to pre-crisis levels, with the first-quarter results coming in as the highest level achieved by the company since overall demand started to slump in the third quarter of 2008.
Booming car sales have helped to lift sales volume of refined products by over 27% year on year to a record 27m tonnes, Kwan said.
The numbers referred PetroChina s sales of gasoline, diesel and kerosene in the March quarter. The strong figures were in line with higher consumption given the strong car sales in China.
Based on official statistics, automotive sales in the country surged 72% year on year to 4.6m units in the first quarter.
PetroChina produced 2.1% more crude oil at 210m barrels in the January-to-March 2010 period compared to the same period last year, while its output of marketable natural gas jumped 16.5% to 609.9bn cubic feet, based on the report accompanying its financial results.
The company processed 215m barrels of crude oil, representing an increase of 16.2% year on year, according to the filing.
Its ethylene output surged 37% year on year to 908,000 tonnes in the first quarter, PetroChina said.
Production of other petrochemicals had also been strong in the first three months of the year, with synthetic resin output rising by 32.3% to 1.38m tones and synthetic rubber posting a 57.3% increase in production.
($1 = CNY6.83 / $1 = ?.76)
In a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), PetroChina said that the average realised price for crude oil soared 88.7% year on year to $70.01/bbl (?3.2/bbl) during the period.
Total turnover for the group was up 75% at CNY318.8bn
This is a redeeming set of results following the modest earnings decline suffered in 2009, said Gordon Kwan, Hong Kong-based head of regional energy research at Mirae Asset Securities.
Kwan said PetroChina s earnings were restored back to pre-crisis levels, with the first-quarter results coming in as the highest level achieved by the company since overall demand started to slump in the third quarter of 2008.
Booming car sales have helped to lift sales volume of refined products by over 27% year on year to a record 27m tonnes, Kwan said.
The numbers referred PetroChina s sales of gasoline, diesel and kerosene in the March quarter. The strong figures were in line with higher consumption given the strong car sales in China.
Based on official statistics, automotive sales in the country surged 72% year on year to 4.6m units in the first quarter.
PetroChina produced 2.1% more crude oil at 210m barrels in the January-to-March 2010 period compared to the same period last year, while its output of marketable natural gas jumped 16.5% to 609.9bn cubic feet, based on the report accompanying its financial results.
The company processed 215m barrels of crude oil, representing an increase of 16.2% year on year, according to the filing.
Its ethylene output surged 37% year on year to 908,000 tonnes in the first quarter, PetroChina said.
Production of other petrochemicals had also been strong in the first three months of the year, with synthetic resin output rising by 32.3% to 1.38m tones and synthetic rubber posting a 57.3% increase in production.
($1 = CNY6.83 / $1 = ?.76)
