PetroChina net income falls 32 percent
PETROCHINA Co., the nation’s biggest oil producer, said yesterday first-quarter profit fell 32 percent as losses at its refineries and a tax on oil sales eroded earnings from record crude prices.
Net income dropped to 28.9 billion yuan (US$4.1 billion), or 0.16 yuan a share, from 42.1 billion yuan, or 0.24 yuan a share, a year earlier, PetroChina said in a statement. Sales rose 42 percent to 259 billion yuan.
Bank of China profit up 85 percent
BANK of China, the country’s second-biggest lender, yesterday posted an 85 percent jump in first-quarter profit, driven by strong fee income and a lower tax rate.
January-March earnings were 21.7 billion yuan (US$3.1 billion) versus 11.7 billion yuan a year earlier. The company also said it had reduced its subprime mortgage-related debt securities to US$4.4 billion from US$5 billion. The bank said it made an impairment allowance for the securities of US$1.5 billion by the end of March.
Guangshen Rail profit down 40 percent
GUANGSHEN Railway Co. said yesterday first-quarter profit fell 40 percent after the country’s heaviest snowstorms in at least five decades caused widespread delays.
Net income dropped to 235.3 million yuan (US$33.6 million), or 0.033 yuan a share, from 391 million yuan, or 0.055 yuan, a year earlier, the company said in a statement.
Snowstorms forced Guangshen Rail to cancel services in January and February, stranding thousands of workers around the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, the country’s peak travel season. Last year, the company more than doubled the number of passengers it carried. About 73 million passengers rode on the company’s rail lines last year, helping sales almost triple to 10.5 billion yuan.
Fuel costs slash Guangdong Electric profit
GUANGDONG Electric Power Development Co., the biggest operator of power plants in Guangdong, said yesterday first-quarter profit fell 99 percent as higher coal prices increased fuel costs.
Net income declined to 2 million yuan (US$286,000), or 0.0008 yuan a share, from 222 million yuan, or 0.0836 yuan a share, a year earlier, Guangdong Electric said.
