Gasgoo.com (Shanghai November 4) - Despite strong performances in September, the third quarter has been hard on domestic manufacturers overall. According to a China Business News report appearing earlier this week, nearly two-thirds of Chinese automobile enterprises saw their net profits decrease last quarter, with only 17 manufacturers reporting positive year-on-year growth.
Leading Chinese enterprise SAIC Group reported a quarterly net profit of 5.35 billion yuan ($850.84m), only 1.43 percent higher than the figure it reported a year ago. The growth figure is the lowest SAIC has posted in over three years. FAW Car, meanwhile, suffered a deficit of 250 million yuan ($39.78m) over the quarter. The quarterly deficit was five times larger than what it reported a year ago. The manufacturer has reported a net deficit of 311 million yuan ($49.48m) since the beginning of the year.
Many predict that Dongfeng Motor will also suffer a net deficit this year. The manufacturer's net profit for the first three quarters totaled 18 million yuan ($2.86m), a full 94.16 percent less than a year ago. Poor conditions in the commercial vehicle market were cited as a major factor behind the severe reductions in Dongfeng's net profit.
Chongqing-based Changan Automobile's business returns and net profits increased 22 percent and 229.93 percent in the third quarter, respectively. Regional policies aimed at helping local industry clearly helped in the manufacturer's recovery over the quarter.
Great Wall Motor and coach manufacturer Jinbei also posted strong performances over the third quarter. The two manufacturers reported net profits of 3.84 billion yuan ($611.04m) and 17.42 million yuan ($2.77m) over the first three quarters of the year. The figures represented year-on-year growth of 51 percent and 201.75 percent, respectively. Both Great Wall and Jinbei attributed their positive growth to beneficial government policies.
Rival bus manufacturers King Long and Yutong also reported large increases to their net profits.
