Record income below market forecasts but firm still the most profitable in Asia
PetroChina, the country's largest oil and gas producer, posted disappointing profits for last year, due mainly to higher than expected rises in oil exploration and production services costs and staff compensation as the industry strives harder to get out deposits.
The company yesterday announced a 6.6 per cent rise in net profit to 142.22 billion yuan, the highest since its listing in 1999, from 133.36 billion yuan in 2005.
Still, this is 6.6 per cent lower than the 152.35 billion yuan average forecast of 23 analysts polled by Thomson First Call, and slightly below the low end of the 142.36 billion to 168.7 billion yuan range of estimates.
Sales increased 25 per cent to 688.98 billion yuan.
The company's net income, which translates to about US$18.38 billion, is likely to allow it to retain its title as Asia's most profitable publicly traded company, ahead of Japanese car giant Toyota Motor Corp, which is expected to post a net profit of US$13.3 billion for last year, according to the median estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
