Domestic

Hisense profit up 87.9% due to flat-panel TV sales

By Ding Qi (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-07-22 17:03

Customers at a?Hisense?LCD TV booth in ?Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, November 10, 2008. [Asianewsphoto]

Hisense Electric Co Ltd, one of China's leading electronics and household appliances producers, said its profit rose nearly 90 percent in the first half of this year due to booming flat-panel TV sales.

In a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Tuesday, the Shandong-based company said it reaped 167 million yuan ($24.45 million) of net profit in the first six months of this year, up 87.9 percent from a year earlier. Operating revenue grew 21.94 percent to 6.878 billion yuan.

Earnings per share reached 0.339 yuan, compared with 0.18 yuan a year ago, according to the exchange's bulletin.

The company attributed the strong half-year data to the rising demand of flat-panel TVs as many families in the country are replacing their bulky cathode ray tube (CRT) TVs with flat-screen sets. The government's home appliance subsidy program in rural areas also helped to promote TV sales.

In the first six months of this year, Hisense saw flat-panel TV sales surge 141 percent. Domestic sales grew even faster, nearly doubling last year's figure, although the company did not yet release specific numbers.

Income from TV business amounted to 6.866 billion yuan, up 23.79 percent, according to the company.

Hisense said it plans to raise 1.5 billion yuan through a private share placement to finance its LCD TV module and components projects. It will build five Integrative assembly lines for LCD modules and five LED rear projection lines. Annual module output of these projects is expected to reach five million sets.

According to a report from research firm GFK, shipments of flat-panel TVs in China reached 4.76 million units in the first quarter of this year, up 70 percent year-on-year. It is a steep jump from a 20-30 percent growth predicted earlier by analysts.

Shares of Hisense Electric closed almost flat at 13.64 yuan Wednesday on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Its share price has surged 124 percent from 6.1 yuan at the beginning of this year.