April 29
    Shares of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Asia's largest oil refiner, fell as higher crude oil costs caused quarterly profit growth to slow to 16 percent, less than half the pace of Exxon Mobil Corp.
    The stock dropped as much as 1.6 percent after the company, known as Sinopec, said yesterday that net income rose to 9.64 billion yuan ($1.16 billion) in the three months ended March 31, while sales climbed 34 percent to 174.1 billion yuan. In the first quarter of 2004, profit rose 29 percent.
    The earnings growth lagged the 44 percent jump at Exxon, the world's biggest publicly traded oil company, and the 28 percent gain announced yesterday by Royal Dutch/Shell Group. Beijing- based Sinopec, which sells 77 percent of the fuel in the world's fastest-growing major economy, has been stopped by the government from passing on the full increase in crude to motorists.
    “Refining margins are in decline because the government controls fuel prices, which affect Sinopec's refining and fuel- sales business,” Lawrence Lau, an oil and gas analyst with BOC International in Hong Kong said today. “Regulatory control is increasingly becoming a concern as oil prices stay at high levels. Slowing profit growth is inevitable.”
    Sinopec's shares fell for a third day, declining 2.5 Hong Kong cents to HK$3.075 at 10:17 a.m.
    Demand from China has helped push global energy prices to records. Crude oil in New York touched an all-time high of $58.28 on April 4 and prices are 39 percent higher than a year ago. Crude oil for June delivery traded at $51.85 a barrel at 6.23 a.m. Beijing time.
    Exxon Mobil
    Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, yesterday said profit rose to $7.86 billion, from $5.44 billion in the quarter. Shell's earnings, excluding gains in the value of oil in storage, rose to $5.55 billion, from $4.33 billion.
    Sinopec increased spending on crude oil and other supplies 45 percent in the first quarter to 131.3 billion yuan as China's soaring demand for fuels and chemicals increased global benchmark prices to records. The company plans to invest 41.6 billion yuan to expand production of ethylene, a raw material for making plastics.
    Chairman Chen Tonghai, 56, is boosting sales of fuels, plastics and paints as rising incomes in China encourage spending on cars, homes and electrical appliances.
   “The company is enjoying the benefit of strong prices for crude oil, fuels and chemical products amid robust market demand”，Chen said in the statement.
    Oil Processing
    Sinopec increased the amount of oil it processed 6.1 percent to 34.3 million metric tons during the quarter. Sinopec's gasoline output in the first three months rose 1.5 percent to 5.82 million tons, diesel production gained 8.9 percent to 13.11 million tons and kerosene increased 13.6 percent to 1.68 million tons, the statement said.
    Production of ethylene, a chemical used for making plastics, rose 7.7 percent to 1.12 million tons in the first three months.    
    The company's domestic fuel sales rose 11 percent to 24.13 million tons.
    Sinopec's first-quarter crude oil output declined 0.1 percent to 9.531 million tons. Its average oil price received rose 27 percent to 2,127 yuan a ton.
    First-quarter natural gas output increased 5.3 percent to 1.47 billion cubic meters. The realized gas price rose 8.1 percent to 655 yuan per thousand cubic meters.
    First-quarter earnings per share rose to 0.111 yuan a share from 0.096 yuan a share.