PetroChina, the mainland's largest oil and gas producer, yesterday posted a better-than-expected net profit last year of 46.91 billion yuan (about HK$43.8 billion), despite earning less for its oil.
The profit was up 3.17 per cent from 45.46 billion yuan in 2001 and compared with an analysts' consensus forecast of about 45.5 billion yuan.
PetroChina's average realised oil sales price of US$22.48 a barrel last year was 4.7 per cent down from US$23.60 in 2001. However, this was offset by its refining and marketing division turning an operating loss of 3.32 billion yuan in 2001 into a profit of 2.81 billion yuan.
'We predict the first quarter's realised oil price to average US$29 a barrel and the full-year average to be maintained at last year's level, even if big drops are seen in the second and third quarters,' chairman Ma Fucai said.
The company's bottom line last year was also helped by savings of 2.37 billion yuan on corporate tax, after the rate for its western China operation was cut from 33 per cent to 15 per cent until 2010 due to Beijing's western region development policy.
Exploration and production posted a 6.23 per cent year-on-year fall in operating profit to 72.13 billion yuan, while chemicals and marketing's loss widened to 3.16 billion yuan from 2.37 billion yuan.