The Zhitong Finance App learned that Bank of America Securities released a research report saying that maintaining the “buy” rating of China Petroleum & Chemical (00386), the refining business is expected to improve in the second quarter, and the exploration and mining business will continue to grow as oil prices rise. It is expected that LNG import losses will decrease and natural gas sales will increase, and the business will continue to improve, but chemical business expectations are still under pressure. The management is expected to implement a new round of share repurchase plans after the shareholders' meeting, with a target price of HK$5.5.

According to the report, Sinopec's net profit after tax for the first quarter of this year fell 10% year on year to RMB 18.7 billion, reaching about 29% and 28% of the full year's profit forecast by Bank of America and the market. Among them, profit before interest and tax from the exploration and mining business increased 11% year on year, mainly due to the 1.3% and 6% increase in crude oil and natural gas production in the first quarter, the 5% increase in the US dollar, and the narrowing of liquefied natural gas (LNG) import losses. However, the refining and chemical business performance was weak during the period, offsetting the related growth.