Leading liquor producer posts hefty first-quarter gains in production, sales

The share price of leading Chinese liquor producer Kweichow Moutai Co Ltd reached a new high during intraday trading on Friday, boosted by its pleasing business performance in the first quarter of the year.

The share price of Kweichow Moutai, listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, rose to the highest point of 399.88 yuan ($58.18) on Friday before profit takers moved in and it closed at 395.5 yuan, for a 0.7 percent retreat on its Thursday close.

Moutai produced 22,455 metric tons of the white spirit in the first quarter, increasing 15.6 percent year-on-year, and it sold 23,360 tons from January to March, increasing 27.3 percent year-on-year, according to its official website.

Moutai said its Q1 revenue totaled 16 billion yuan, increasing 24.3 percent year-on-year and profit came in at 7 billion yuan, up 13.1 percent year-on-year.

China Merchants Securities Co analyst Yang Yongsheng said in a report that domestic liquor consumption had recovered and Moutai was benefitting from the consumption upgrading and its strong brand influence.

Wholesalers have low inventories and demand is strong, Yang added.

"We believe Moutai will enter a more brilliant era and forecast its share price will reach 500 yuan in a year," Yang added.

Kweichow Moutai overtook Diageo Plc to become the world's top liquor producer by market value last week. Moutai shares rose to 392.9 yuan on April 7, taking its total capitalization to 493.5 billion yuan ($71.7 billion), surpassing Diageo's 57.4 billion pounds ($71.2 billion).

The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.91 percent to close at 3,246.1 points on Friday. The Shenzhen Component Index declined by 1.26 percent, while the ChiNext startup index fell by 1.2 percent.

Stocks related to the newly announced Xiongan New Area in Hebei province performed weakly on Friday. Hesteel Company Ltd, Hebei Sitong New Metal Material Co Ltd, Jointo Energy Investment Co and Silvery Dragon Prestressed Materials Co Ltd led the decline on the day.

Listed companies in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region became popular as the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the autonomous region was drawing near. Inner Mongolia Eerduosi Resources Co Ltd, Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining Co Ltd and Inner Mongolia MengDian HuaNeng Thermal Power Corp Ltd led the rise.

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