Chinese car maker Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. posted a disappointing 47% rise in 2004 net profit, becoming the latest Chinese auto maker to report worse-than-expected earnings, according to Reuters.
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“This will be another difficult year as raw material costs and oil prices are rising and there is continued pressure on our car prices,” Geely’s executive director Lawrence Ang reportedly told a news conference on Thursday.
Reuters said sales in the first quarter of the current year rose 24% year-on-year to 28,671 units, however, or 24% of its 2005 sales target of 120,000 units, as demand improved after a series of price cuts.
Geely, which makes low-priced vehicles under its own brand through associates, achieved only 73% of its revised sales target last year as growth skidded in the Chinese car market, the news agency noted.
It reportedly posted net profit of $HK84 million ($US10.77 million) for the year to December 31 against a profit of $HK57.49 million in 2003 – the earnings were 37% below a consensus profit forecast of $HK133.8 million, according to Reuters Estimates.
