Chinese oil giant China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., usually called Sinopec, (NYSE:SNP) reported that annual earnings were off 47% for 2008, compared with 2007. The report includes only annual numbers; no quarterly numbers were published. Analysts had been expecting EPS of $3.72, and Sinopec came in at about $1.32 fully diluted EPS.
Sinopec’s refining segment lost about $9.02 million, which it attributes to “pressure from both meeting domestic market demand and suffering huge losses as a result of the government’s strict price control over oil products.”
For 2009, the company expects crude prices “to fluctuate at a relatively low level for a certain period” and demand to slow in China’s domestic market.
SNP’s shares are down more than 5% in early trading today. CNOOC Ltd. (NYSE: CEO) is also down in sympathy by over 6%. You might be able to blame the market today in China and in the U.S. on the drop, but the percentage changes here are staggering on the surface.
Paul Ausick
March 30, 2009
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