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China Gezhouba order-book swells

By Zheng Lifei (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-04-02 08:07

The Three Gorges Dam under construction in this file photo. China Gezhouba was the main buildder of this huge hydropower project. [CFP]

China Gezhouba Group Co, one of the largest engineering and construction companies that built the massive Three Gorges Dam in China, said yesterday that it had received a total of 11.68 billion yuan worth of orders in the first quarter of 2009. This accounted for nearly 40 percent of its yearly target.

The Shanghai-listed company said it signed 8.9 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) worth of domestic engineering and construction contracts, while the remainder (2.78 billion yuan) came from overseas.

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Nearly 50 percent, or 5.77 billion yuan, worth of projects came from hydropower plants, its core business, the company said in a statement.

The better-than-expected order book position in the first quarter, analysts said, would almost guarantee that the company would be able to meet its earlier target of 30 billion yuan in new orders this year and help it maintain steady growth in the coming years.

"The possibility that the company would exceed its target is very high given its performance in the first quarter," research house TX Investment Consulting said yesterday.

"And, considering the huge order backlog, which is estimated to be as high as 85 billion yuan, the company will be able to maintain steady growth in the coming years," the Shanghai-based research firm said, giving the company an "overweight" rating.

Gezhouba said earlier that it expected to sign up 30 billion yuan in new orders this year, slightly lower than the 30.3 billion yuan it garnered in 2008, citing the likely impact of the global financial crisis on its overseas business and the crowded domestic construction market.

The construction firm, however, said its overall profitability "could be sustained" against the backdrop of the country's 4-trillion-yuan economic stimulus package, which it said would boost demand for construction and engineering projects.

The hydropower plants builder saw its net profit surge 34 percent from a year earlier to 800 billion yuan in 2008, driven by its robust overseas business last year.

The Wuhan-based construction company recorded 19.4 billion yuan in revenue last year, up 61 percent from a year earlier, boosted by its overseas business surge, it said in its earnings report last month.

The company, which has diversified its business into areas such as cement and power, aims to chalk up 22.7 billion yuan in revenue this year.

Gezhouba, which also has a property business arm, said it would boost its cement, hydropower, civil explosives and highway segments to further diversity its business and lower risks.

The company's cement operations saw a revenue surge of 66 percent, to 1.32 billion yuan last year, accounting for 6.8 percent of its total revenue.

"The abundant order book and the company's business diversification initiative will possibly see its performance exceeding our estimates," Shenyin & Wanguo Securities said in a research note.