BEIJING: Chinese oil giant PetroChina reported a 12.1 percent year-on-year increase in its net profit in the first quarter.

Net profit attributable to the parent company reached 43.62 billion yuan (about 6.3 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three months, the company said in a statement filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The company also said that its basic earnings per share stood at 0.24 yuan.

Its shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange went up 5.2 percent on April 28, the previous trading day, to 7.89 yuan.