HONG KONG, Aug. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Guangshen
Railway Company Limited ("Guangshen Railway" or the "Company")
(HKEx Share Code: 525; SSE Share Code: 601333; American Depositary
Shares ("ADS") Ticker Symbol: GSH) today announced its unaudited
operating results for the six months ended June 30, 2012 (the "Period") of the Company and
its subsidiaries (the "Group").
During the Period, operating revenue of the Company reached
RMB7,011 million, an increase of
1.11% year-on-year. Profit from operations was RMB990 million, down 23.71% compared to
RMB1,298 million in the same period
last year. Profit attributable to equity holders amounted to
RMB678 million, 25.87% lower compared
to RMB915 million in the same period
last year. Basic earnings per share came to RMB0.10. The board of directors of the Company
does not recommend the payment of any interim dividend for
2012.
Guangshen Railway said, "In the first half of 2012, the PRC
economy has slowed down under the combined influence of complicated
and variable domestic and overseas market conditions. Facing the
lower demand for railway transportation industry and the
unfavorable operating environment caused by the dilution of client
base by Express Rail Links, the management has rallied staff in its
ongoing drive to boost marketing activities, re-align the
transportation organization, enhance the transportation resources
and explore growth opportunities in the railway operating services.
These measures have helped the Company successfully realized the
safety and stability of transportation production and a moderate
increase in the transportation revenue. However, due to higher
labor costs, train repair expenses and other operating costs,
profitability has been impacted."
During the Period, the Company recorded passenger delivery
volume of 42.4157 million persons, marking a year-on-year decrease
of 6.65%. Revenue from passenger transportation decreased 4.24%
year-on-year to RMB3,742 million. Of
this amount, the passenger delivery volumes of Guangzhou-Shenzhen trains, long-distance trains and
Through Trains amounted to 18.0451 million, 22.5599 million and
1.8106 million persons, respectively, marking year-on-year
decreases of 7.08%, 7.02% and an increase of 3.12%, respectively.
The three operations realised revenues of RMB1,195 million, RMB2,321
million and RMB225 million,
respectively, marking year-on-year decreases of 7.46%, 3.17% and an
increase of 3.10%, respectively.
The lower passenger delivery volume and revenue of Guangzhou-Shenzhen intercity trains were mainly due to
slowing growth of the PRC economy, especially in the Pearl River
Delta, leading to lower demand in the passenger transportation
market. Meanwhile, factory inspection was required for certain
"CRHs" that had reached grade four mileage, capping the number of
trains in service. The train schedule of Guangzhou-Shenzhen intercity trains was adjusted from
March 8 this year to ensure operating
safety of the trains, leading to fewer train pairs in operation and
longer travel time and running train intervals, which in turn
lowered the operating capacity of the trains.
In respect of long-distance trains, the passenger delivery
volume and revenue were also impacted by slowing economic growth in
the PRC, leading to lower demand in the passenger transportation
market. This was compounded by competition arising from the higher
frequency of the Wuhan-Guangzhou Express Rail Link which diluted
the customer base. More stringent controls on passenger train
overloading, implemented since the Spring Festival to comply with
safety regulations and guarantee service quality, also capped
business volume to a certain extent.
In respect of Through Trains, passenger delivery volume and
revenue both recorded growth. This was mainly due to more
passengers travelling between mainland China, Hong
Kong and Macau for purposes
such as business, leisure, shopping and visiting relatives under
the growing economic and trade ties between mainland China, Hong
Kong and Macau, as well as
the influence of the gradual renminbi appreciation. All these
stimulated the growth of passenger delivery volume and Through
Train revenue.
During the Period, freight tonnage (outbound and inbound) was
30,555,883 tonnes, a dip of 5.48% year-on-year and generating
revenue of RMB673 million, up 4.62%
year-on-year. Outbound freight tonnage grew 1.16%, with revenue up
18.94% year-on-year. This was mainly due to higher coal imports by
domestic enterprises spurred by falling international coal
prices, which contributed to a higher volume of coal-related
freights delivered by railway transportation from the Pearl River
Delta region to the mainland. In addition, the increase in the
consolidated freight transportation price by approximately
RMB1.00 cent per tonne kilometer from
May 20, 2012 also led to rising
revenue of inbound freight transported.
Revenue of railway network usage and services and other
transportation services rose by 11.10% year-on-year, mainly due to
the increase in services provided to the other railway lines, which
boosted the growth in related revenues.
Looking forward to its developments in the second half of 2012,
the Company said: "The current economic growth has slowed, and
'stable growth' will become the prime macro-economic policy
objective of the Chinese government. It is expected that under the
effect of such policies, the Chinese economy will likely retrace a
gradual upward growth momentum, and the railway passenger and
freight operations will also grow steadily. The Company will
leverage the market opportunities and aggressively develop the
principal businesses of passenger and freight transportation. This
includes increasing marketing efforts for passenger transportation,
actively exploring new growth avenues in the passenger
transportation market, and enhancing consolidation of freight
transportation resources. Meanwhile, we will also aggressively
explore the railway operation services business, implement
comprehensive safety risk management and reinforce construction of
safety infrastructure, to promote the harmonious development of all
aspects of the Company."
About Guangshen Railway Company Limited
Guangshen Railway Company Limited was established in
March 1996. The H shares and ADS
issued by the Company were listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong
Kong Limited and the New York Stock Exchange in May 1996. In December
2006, the Company returned to the A share market and
successfully listed its shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The
Company is currently the only PRC railway enterprise with its
shares listed on the Shanghai,
Hong Kong and New York stock exchanges. The Company is
engaged in the railway passenger business between Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Pingshi, providing Guangzhou-Shenzhen inter-city train service,
long-distance passenger transportation service, freight
transportation service, and the Hong Kong Through Train passenger
service in cooperation with MTR Corporation in Hong Kong, as well as entrustment
transportation service for other domestic railway companies. As at
June 30, 2012, the Company operated
217 pairs of passenger trains in accordance with its daily train
schedules, including 96 pairs of Guangzhou-Shenzhen trains (includes 16 pairs of spare
trains), 13 pairs of Hong Kong Through Trains (Canton-Kowloon
Through Train: 11 pairs, Zhaoqing-Kowloon Through Train: 1 pair and
Beijing (Shanghai)-Kowloon Trough Train: 1 pair), and
108 pairs of long-distance trains.
Enclosed: 2012 Interim Results Main Accounting Data
http://www.prnasia.com/sa/attachment/2012/08/20120828194339473480.pdf
For further
enquiries, please contact
|
Guangshen Railway
Company Limited
|
Hill + Knowlton
Strategies Asia
|
Mr. Guo
Xiangdong
|
Ms. Daphne
Chan
|
Tel: (86755) 2558
8150
|
Tel: (852) 2894
6217
|
Fax: (86755) 2559
1480
|
Email:
daphne.chan@hkstrategies.com
|
Ms. Grace
Deng
|
Ms. Lucinda
Mao
|
Tel: (86755) 2558
8150
|
Tel: (852) 2894
6254
|
Fax: (86755) 2559
1480
|
Email:
lucinda.mao@hkstrategies.com
|
SOURCE Guangshen Railway Company Limited