Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Q1 profit likely to quadruple

Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd<600066>, one of the leading Chinese bus manufacturers, said on Tuesday its net profit for the first quarter may quadruple over the corresponding period of the previous year on increased sales of buses and earnings from stake transfer.

The company said in a statement that first-quarter net profit is likely to rise more than 400% from RMB 44.5 million of 2006.

Meanwhile, it published its annual result for last year, saying that a 66.56% jump was seen in its 2007 net profit to RMB 377 million or RMB 0.94 per share thanks to big growth in bus sale and output and rising returns from property investment. Revenue in the same period climbed 49.09% to RMB 7.9 billion.

It recommended to pay a dividend of RMB 0.7 apiece and a cash dividend of RMB 7.00 per 10 shares.