Zhongshan, Guangdong - Homa, China's refrigerator export leader for six consecutive years, had a 14.5% increase in export revenue to RMB2.6bn ($419m) in 2014 with 3.9m units sold overseas, accounting for 14% of China's refrigerator export volume.
According to the company's website, this year it plans to sell 4.5m units overseas and is aiming for more than 6m units in export by 2018. It has contracted China Shipping Container Lines to custom make its own export containers, with the first batch unveiled in March.
Homa's revenue from the China market, however, dropped by 6% in 2014. "Domestic demand is shrinking sharply from over-stimulated consumption caused by previous policies, such as government subsidies for energy-efficient refrigerators or rural consumers," said the company's annual report.
•Separately, Homa said it plans to open its a sixth plant in Zhongshan, with 3.5m unit/year capacity, including over 1m freezers/year, by the end of the second quarter of 2015, said its website.
The plant broke ground in 2014 - as utech-polyurethane.com reported at the time - and is said to have a high-end focus.
XE Currency Conversion: 30 April, 2015
