Posted on 04/19/2002 10:08:20 PM PDT by maui_hawaii
HONG KONG -(Dow Jones)- Mainland truck maker Qingling Motors Co . (Q.QMC) said Friday it expects its exports in 2002 to increase by more than 50% from the US$6 million in overseas sales last year.
The robust growth in its overseas markets is expected help to lift its 2002 revenue by 15% above its the 3.3 billion yuan (US$1=CNY8.28) it recorded in 2001, Qingling Chairman and General Manager Wu Yun told reporters.
The company is looking at overseas markets as competition intensifies domestically. The company cited that competition as the main reason for its 49% decline in net profit in fiscal year 2001 to CNY263 million.
Wu noted there has been a surge in mid- to low-range products that copy the brand name or design of Qingling's Isuzu models but are sold more cheaply.
"You can easily find over 10 Isuzu-like models running in China ," Wu said. " But this unfair competition won't last long as the market will be better regulated with China 's entry into the World Trade Organization (news - web sites)," Wu said.
Wu said the company set its production target in 2002 at 33,000 units, compared with the 30,279 units sold in 2001.
Qingling has only sold 6,300 units in the first quarter this year, a moderate 3% increase from the year-earlier figure.
Qingling shares fell 8.11% Friday to close at HK$1.36 as the company halved its dividend payout to five fen. Analysts were generally expecting the same 10- fen dividend it paid in 2000.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.