SAIC Motor books a flat profit in Q1

SAIC Motor Corp<600104>, China's biggest auto maker, posted a net profit of RMB 1.24 billion (US$177 million) for the first quarter this year, flat up 7% from RMB 1.16 billion in the same period of 2007.

Sales jumped 14% year-on-year to hit RMB 28.9 billion, said the Shanghai-based company in a filing with the city's bourse on Saturday. It sold a total of 463,683 vehicles in the corresponding period, up 15% from a year earlier, lagging behind a 21% growth in the overall market due to cooling demand for Buick Excelles made by its venture with General Motor.

It was also hit by the worst snow crisis in five decades that swept the country at the beginning of the year, which disrupted the delivery of parts and shipments of new vehicles.

SAIC Motor may face a tough outlook of 2008 as its huge base and surging prices of raw material will squeeze sharply its margins, according to analysts.