Barrel prices boost PetroChina profits
PetroChina, the mainland's largest oil producer, has posted a 77 per cent year on year earnings surge to 27 billion yuan (about HK$25.11 billion) for last year, in its first results since listing three weeks ago.
The results, which met its own profit forecast of 26.89 billion yuan, were bolstered by soaring crude oil prices, strong business growth and a sharp drop in costs.
Vice-president Jiang Jiemin said the firm sold crude oil at an average price of US$16.87 a barrel last year, up 24 per cent from 1998's average selling price of US$13.60 a barrel.
International oil prices recently hit peaks of more than US$30 a barrel, before members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries raised output, bringing prices down to between US$20 and US$25 a barrel.
Mr Jiang said the company's average selling price for crude oil reached US$26 a barrel during the first quarter. He said the price should remain between US$20 and US$22 a barrel for the full year.
Each US dollar increase in oil price would boost net profit by 1.8 billion yuan and vice versa, company vice-chairman and president Huang Yan said.
Net profit would lift by 7.4 billion yuan, based on the difference between last year's average of US$16.87 and this year's expected average of US$21.
Company officials said the H share recorded robust growth in natural gas, refining and petrol and diesel products.
Turnover advanced 19.47 per cent to 175.96 billion yuan last year.
PetroChina, the world's fourth-largest publicly-traded oil company, processed 502 million barrels of crude oil last year, or an average of 1.376 million barrels a day.
It produced about 39.65 million tonnes of petrol, diesel and jet fuel, and sold about 48.78 million tonnes of these products, the company said.
Earnings per share were 17 fen, up from 10 fen a year ago. No final dividend will be paid.
PetroChina has planned a pre-tax cost reduction of about nine billion yuan by 2002, to catch up with international oil giants.
This year's cost savings would be met, company officials said.
