CNOOC H1 net falls 55%

CNOOC Ltd., China’s biggest offshore oil company, said net income by fell 55% to 12.4 billion yuan (US$1.8 billion), or 0.28 yuan (US$0.04) a share, from 27.5 billion yuan (US$4.03 billion), or 0.61 yuan (US$0.09) a share, a year earlier. Sales dropped 42% to 40.6 billion yuan (US$5.94 billion). “CNOOC is seen by investors as a well-run company and one that will do well when the Chinese economy fully recovers,” said Gideon Lo, an energy analyst at DBS Vickers in Hong Kong. “The company’s performance is tied to demand and the price of oil and we’ve already seen that crude prices are rising.” Crude oil has more than doubled from its February low as the global recession eased, with China’s economic growth accelerating to 7.9% in the second quarter. Prices still averaged 53% less in the first six months than a year earlier, however. (August 27, 2009)