Others News
- Sinopec quarterly earnings beat forecast
Date: 17-Apr-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
TOP Asian oil refiner Sinopec Corp. beat forecasts with a more than twofold jump in quarterly earnings as falling oil prices helped its refining arm turn around and it flagged a 50 percent surge in first-half profit.
Now with oil prices likely to hold steady or even soften this year, investors foresee double-digit net profit growth for Sinopec in 2007. But its fortunes also hinge on whether the government allows it to charge more for refined products.
Sinopec said this month it expected net profit to rise more than half in the first quarter after its refining arm returned to profit in the fourth quarter of 2006.
Global crude oil prices plunged to a 19-month low of US$51 a barrel in January before rebounding to around US$65 a barrel at the end of March.
Sinopec said yesterday its net profit was 19.4 billion yuan (US$2.5 billion) in the first three months versus a revised 9.55 billion yuan a year earlier.
The result beat a forecast for 18 billion yuan, according to three analysts.
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