(Shenzhen Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-09 09:28

TCL Corp, China's biggest publicly traded electronics maker, turned to a profit in the first half, helped by cost cuts after closing unprofitable units in Europe.

Net income was 45.1 million yuan (US$6 million), compared with a restated net loss of 746.4 million yuan a year earlier, the Shenzhen-listed company said yesterday. Sales fell 24 percent to 18.4 billion yuan from a restated 24.2 billion yuan, based on new accounting standards applied this quarter, it said.

Chairman Li Dongsheng said in March he expected TCL to be profitable in 2007 after shuttering European operations that it acquired from France’s Thomson SA in 2004. TCL reported a record 1.9 billion annual loss last year because costs related to regulations for firing workers exceeded expectations, Li said in December.

First-half profit was 0.0174 yuan a share, compared with a loss of 0.2886 yuan, the company said. TCL’s production costs fell 25 percent to 15.6 billion yuan a year earlier, it said.

Li ruled out bringing in strategic investors for TCL’s personal computer business after the unit turned an operating profit in the first half.

“TCL's PC unit had a small operating profit for the first half of this year. It does not have an immediate need for funding,” Li said Tuesday.

“We will not sell our PC unit, and right now we do not have plans to bring in strategic investors any more. We did think about that earlier ... but the plan has been dropped,” he added.

TCL has been dogged by media reports speculating that the company would apply for a stock market listing for its PC unit and might bring in outside investors.