China Oilfield Services Ltd (COSL), the mainland's dominant provider of offshore drilling and related services, posted a 73.3 per cent year-on-year jump in third-quarter net profit to 604.12 million yuan. Turnover surged 38 per cent to 2.29 billion yuan.
Net profit for the year's first nine months rose 66.8 per cent to 1.69 billion yuan, on the back of a 16.9 per cent increase in operating days of its drilling rigs and higher drilling rates.
'The expansion of the geophysical [data collection] market, an increase in operations and the application of new equipment and high-tech materials and the implementation of effective cost controls [also drove profits higher],' it said in a statement to Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing.
The company said that by the end of last month, it had yet to receive a tax refund for 2006 against a refund of 176 million yuan a year earlier from the Tianjin government.
COSL's H shares yesterday edged down 0.77 per cent to HK$18. Its A shares ended up 1.8 per cent at 41.74 yuan, 3.1-times its 13.48 yuan initial public offering price late last month.