PetroChina announces 35% drop in profit

PetroChina, China’s largest listed oil firm by capacity, announced net profit fell 35% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2009, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company blamed its poor performance on falls in prices and demand. Net profit declined to US$2.78 billion, while revenues fell 30% to US$26.59 billion. Analysts expect the company to see some improvement over the year, despite the International Energy Agency recently cutting its forecast for China’s oil demand to a 0.8% contraction, from 0.6% growth. A fuel price increase in late March and revived demand as government stimulus fuels destocking are expected to contribute to improved results later in the year.