Liaoning carmaker may turn a profit this year as sales surge
Brilliance China Automotive Holdings, the Liaoning carmaker that has been sputtering since its high-flying founder fled the mainland under a cloud of accusations five years ago, expects to turn a profit this year after two years of losses.
The company's Hong Kong-listed shares jumped 8.2 per cent yesterday, closing at HK$1.98, after it was announced at a shareholders' meeting that last month's sales grew more than sixfold to 45,000 units over the same period last year.
'The bad performance of the company in the past few years has been due to a management problem, not competition in the industry,' said chairman Wu Xiaoan.
The company, which from 2002 until last year was managed by the Liaoning provincial government, is struggling in an increasingly competitive but rapidly growing car market.
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported that overall vehicle sales last month in the mainland reached 552,500 units, up 31.03 per cent from a year earlier.
Brilliance China was the ninth largest mainland carmaker in terms of sales for the month, the association said.
