The listed arm of Chinese appliance maker Haier posted a 12-percent rise in fourth-quarter net earnings, even as fierce competition, soaring raw material costs, and a cut in export tax rebates ate into full-year profit.
Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co. Ltd. posted earnings of 84.09 million yuan (approx. U.S. $10.16 million) in the October to December period, versus 75.32 million yuan a year earlier, calculated from previously reported figures and in results published in the official Shanghai Securities News.
Full-year net edged up just 0.1 percent to 369.44 million yuan, though revenue rose 30.9 percent to 15.3 billion yuan.
Analysts had expected earnings to slip for the third straight year as the world’s fourth-largest appliance maker — behind Whirlpool Corp., Electrolux, and BSH — grapples with a price war made worse by stubborn overcapacity.
“In 2004, there was fierce competition in the home appliances sector, a large rise in raw material costs, (and) a cut in export tax rebates,” the company said in a statement, referring to operating conditions as “abominable.”
Revenue should hit 17 billion yuan in 2005, the company added, without giving an earnings outlook. (Reuters)