Nanjing, Jiangsu – China’s system house Hongbaoli expects its unaudited net profit in 2019 to jump by 203% to CNY 88m ($13m) compared with 2018.
This is despite a 3% revenue fall to CNY 2.4bn in the financial year. The news broke in a company statement in January.
Lower product prices led to the revenue drop, but the company reduced costs. Hongbaoli said it upgraded technology and improved management, and this raised profit margins, said the statement.
The company's profits are starting from a low base. In 2018 they fell by 30% from 2017. This was 'amid rising feedstock prices and the fact that ‘the 'America First' policy intensified foreign trade frictions,’ said an earlier announcement by Hongbaoli.
The value of the company’s total assets at the end of 2019 rose by 6% to CNY 3.8bn, compared with the beginning of 2019.
The rise is because of the investment in new projects. These include a 120kT/year propylene oxide project in Taizhou, Jiangsu province. That plant started full operation in early 2019.
Currency conversion: XE.com