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08-08-2007
China's
top 16 automotive groups chalked up a two-thirds
increase in first-half combined profits, boosted
by buoyant vehicle sales, an industry association
said yesterday.
Their
post-tax profits totaled 30.2 billion yuan in
the first six months, up 65.8 percent from a
year ago, according to data from the China Association
of Automobile Manufacturers.
The
pace slowed slightly from 69.9 percent in the
first quarter.
The
largest auto stock in China by assets is scheduled
to announce its interim results on August 21.
Zhu
Yiping, an official from the auto association,
said the profit hike was mainly due to brisk
sales and improved cost-cutting efforts.
Sales
of all vehicles made in China grew by 23.3 percent
year-on-year to 4.37 million units in the first
half, with passenger cars soaring by 26 percent.
Zhang
Xin, an auto analyst with Guotai & Jun'an
Securities Co, said strong profit growth should
also be attributed to vehicle producers' investments
in the booming domestic capital market, where
the Shanghai Composite Index has surged by 70
percent so far this year.
"Many
automakers are buying stocks and funds, which
will continue to help them boost profits significantly
in the second half of this year," Zhang
told China Daily.
He
predicted that the combined profits of the 16
automotive groups would climb by 50 to 60 percent
this year from 2006.
The
core business turnover of the 16 groups rose
by 26.6 percent to 486.4 billion yuan in the
first six months of this year, according to
data.
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