Great Wall Motor sees 37% rise in net

Great Wall Motor<2333>, China's largest maker of sport-utility vehicles and pick-up trucks on Thursday posted a 37% rise in its 2007 net profit thanks to strong growth in sales.

Net profit for last year amounted to roughly RMB 1 billion or RMB 0.91 per share from RMB 733 million a year earlier. Revenue in the same period stood at RMB 7.58 billion, compared with RMB 4.9 billion of 2006.

Last year, the company sold a total of 107,820 complete cars, up 46.5% from 73,580 units a year earlier. Pick-up tracks and SUVs are the two major contributors to the sales growth. Sales of pick-up tracks climbed 22.9% to hit 54,955 units, while that of SUVS increased 81.5% to 51,855 units.

It recommended a final dividend of RMB 0.20 apiece, up from the previous year's RMB 0.16.