Sinopec's net profit up 1.4% in 2011

Sinopec Corp., Asia's largest oil refiner, said on Sunday that its net profit added only 1.4 percent year-on-year to 71.7 billion yuan (11.38 billion U.S. dollars) in 2011 under China's accounting standards amid a slowing world economy and volatile global financial markets.

Its earnings per share stood at 0.827 yuan last year, up 1.3 percent from previous year, the company said in its annual report filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Revenue climbed 31 percent year-on-year to 2.5 trillion yuan, according to the report.

The company said that its crude oil output dropped 1.9 percent from a year earlier to reach 322 million barrels last year due to rising oil prices.

Natural gas output rose 17.1 percent to 517.07 billion cubic meters.

Sinopec expects global oil price to remain at high levels due to the geopolitical tension, while domestic demand for petrochemical products will grow at slower pace as a result of economic restructuring.