Chinese oil giant PetroChina Company Limited on Thursday reported a 4.8-percent year-on-year drop in net profits in the first quarter of 2014.

The largest oil and gas producer in China said in a press release that its net profits in the first quarter stood at 37.27 billion yuan (6.09 billion U.S. dollars).

The company attributed the decrease mainly to slumping crude oil prices and exchange losses from overseas operations.

In the first three months, the company's crude oil output amounted to 231 million barrels, up 0.3 percent from the same period last year. Its marketable natural gas output amounted to 789.7 billion cubic feet, up 6 percent year on year, while PetroChina's oil and gas equivalent output was 363 million barrels, up 2.3 percent year on year.

The company processed 254 million barrels of crude oil Jan.-March., which was generally in line with the same period last year. It produced 23.43 million tonnes of gasoline, diesel and kerosene, up 3 percent from a year earlier.