Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd said on Monday its 2009 net profit rose 35 percent because of strong growth in vehicle sales, and reiterated that its parent company plans to eventually inject Volvo Cars into the listed company after buying the unit from Ford Motor Co.
Geely Automobile’s net profit for the 12 months ended 31 Dec. 2009 rose to CNY1.18 billion (USD173 million) from CNY879.1 million (USD128.8 million) a year earlier. Revenue more than tripled to CNY14.07 billion (USD2.06 billion) from CNY4.29 billion (USD628.4 million), after the company nearly doubled its stakes in five car-making ventures in July 2008.
China replaced the US as the world’s biggest auto market last year, when sales in the country soared nearly 50 percent to 13.6 million as the government introduced measures to encourage auto purchases in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Zhejiang-based Geely benefited from these measures, which helped boost car sales by 59 percent to 325,413, exceeding its target of 250,000 units for the year.
To view the full article (note: you must be a Wall Street Journal Online subscriber), visit The Wall Street Journal Online.
(Source: The Wall Street Journal Online)