BEIJING: China’s largest oil and gas producer PetroChina reported on Monday a leap in third-quarter net profit on rebounding crude prices and deleveraging.
Net profit surged to 4.69 billion yuan (RM3.0bil), up 290% from a year earlier, as the company cut debt and interest expenses.
Revenues rose to 481.8 billion yuan (RM307.2bil), up 17% from the same period last year, PetroChina said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The state giant’s share price, however, has been hovering near the lowest since 2005, weighed down by still weak global oil prices while refining margins are under pressure from competition from independent refineries.
PetroChina’s earnings could be lifted in the fourth quarter as it is expected to raise wholesale natural gas prices by 20% from mid-November just as the winter heating season starts in northern parts of the country, analysts said.
The gas price hike will offset a recent 15% cut in pipeline tariffs, part of a government policy push to reduce transmission cost and boost use of the cleaner fuel.
Crude production fell to 660 million barrels in the first three quarters of the year, down 5% year on year. Natural gas sales up were 4.5% year on year in the January to September period. - Reuters
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Cancel anytime. No ads. Auto-renewal. Unlimited access to the web and app. Personalised features. Members rewards.
Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!