(RTTNews) - China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (SNP) reported Wednesday a solid rise in earnings for the first quarter, reflecting higher revenues.
For the quarter ended March 31, 2010, net profit attributable to equity shareholders rose 39.93% to RMB 15.785 billion from RMB 11.28 billion last year. On a per share basis, earnings increased 38.76% to RMB 0.179 from RMB 0.129 a year ago.
The company said that its turnover, other operating revenues and other income for the quarter rose 92.62% to RMB 438.209 billion from last year.
China Petroleum said that during the first quarter, the output of crude oil reached 10.38 million tonnes, similar to last year; while the output of natural gas amounted to 2.794 billion cubic meters, up 40.97%.Natural gas output increased 40.97% year-on-year, and refinery throughput of crude recorded a 20.42% rise of to 49.50 million tonnes from last year.
Further, domestic sales of refined oil products climbed 24.25% to 32.84 million tonnes from a year ago. The company said that production of ethylene rose 36.29% to 2.03 million tonnes, and synthetic resin advanced 20.72% to 2.92 million tonnes during the current quarter.
Segment wise, Refining Segment saw a rise in utilization rate, and the company said that initiatives were made to adjust product mix in order to accommodate market needs. The company successfully launched operations of new and upgraded facilities, and the refinery throughput of crude oil increased 20.42% to 49.50 million tonnes.
In light of continued efforts to expand market potential, including non-fuel business, and improvement in functional services at stations, the domestic sales of refined oil products amounted to 32.84 million tonnes, a year-on-year growth of 24.25%, China Petroleum added.
Commenting on the results, Chief Finance Officer Wang Xinhua said “In the first quarter of 2010, China’s economy continued to recover. In light of state stimulus policies, the demand for natural gas, oil and chemical products grew steadily and the company took various proactive measures to expand the market and optimize the product mix. In the first three months of this year the production of natural gas, refinery throughput of crude oil, sales volume of oil products, and production of ethylene, all increased substantially.”
SNP is currently trading higher at US$81.24, up US$0.92 or 1.15% on the NYSE.
