| Half year results for China-based injection moulding machine manufacturer Haitian International released yesterday were mixed depending on machine size range.
Haitian’s large machine sales, defined as machines with clamping forces of 500 tonnes or more recorded strong 33.8% growth to RMB 736m (Euro 74m) in mainly logistics, automotive and electrical markets.
But there was a slight 2.1% decline in sales of smaller machines below 500 tonnes clamping force to RMB 1,280m (Euro 128m). This is said by the company to be mainly due to poorer sales to small-to-medium sized companies.
Factors that have contributed to the decline in this segment are said by Haitian to include “the slowdown of the US economy, sharp increases in world crude oil and plastic material prices, continued tightening of austerity measures by the Chinese government and implementation of new labour laws in China”.
Due to the varying sales performance between the two machine size ranges, overall turnover in the first half 2008 grew 9% to RMB 2,060m (Euro 206m) compared with the first half 2007. Gross profit climbed 3.4% to RMB 568m (Euro 55m).
Sales growth has flattened however, since turnover over the full year in 2007 had grown faster at 20%.
The results were achieved despite “a surge of raw material costs, like steel and iron” that contributed towards an average 6% increase in prices for Haitian’s machines. Haitian’s ceo Zhang Jianming added that a focus on higher value machines also helped.
But despite cost-saving measures, gross profit margin declined by 1.5% to 27.6% compared with the same period in 2007.
Zhang Jianming said, “the moderate growth in both sales and gross profit in the first half 2008 makes Haitian unrivalled among our peers, allowing us to strengthen our leading position in the industry”.
The hybrid drive Mars (formerly J5) machine has performed well in the market with RMB 491m (Euro 49m) of sales in the first half 2008 alone exceeding the full-year 2007 sales. This followed a 50% increase in the second half of 2007 to RMB 430m (Euro 43m).
Sales of the Jupiter two-platen machines recorded a 159% increase over the second half 2007 to RMB 75m (Euro 7.5m).
Haitian did not announce results for the new Venus low-end all-electric machine, developed by the Zhafir Plastics Machinery subsidiary in Germany. There has similarly been no further reference to the high end all-electric Mercury machine, that had been due for launch by Zhafir in 2009. |
