Sinopec, Asia’s largest refiner,announced on April 29 that its net firstquarter profit skyrocketed almost 12-fold as it sold more refined oil andpetrochemical products, cashing in onthe international price hikes in oilduring the period. However, analystssaid the growth of China’s secondlargest oil company is expected torecede in the second quarter as oil pricesfall due to the end of the Iraq War.Theystill anticipate the company’s full-yearprofit will increase by 15 percent ormore on the back of a domestic oilmarket recovery. Sinopec earned 6.42 billion yuan(US$775 billion) in the first quarter,compared with 542 million yuan(US$65.5 million) a year earlier, basedon the international accountingstandards, the company said in astatement. Earnings per share (EPS)increased to 0.07 yuan (0.8 US cents)over the same period of the previousyear. Revenues rose 55.6 percent to102.7 billion yuan (US$12.41 billion).The profit surge is in line with marketexpectation as analysts said high oil
