Investorman
15 years ago
The Investment Opportunity of a Lifetime
http://www.fool.com/investing/international/2010/01/14/the-investment-opportunity-of-a-lifetime.aspx
Ilan Moscovitz
January 14, 2010
If you've never followed George Soros, now is the time to reconsider.
See, Soros has spent nearly 50 years studying boom-bust cycles, including the international banking crisis, the collapse of the British pound sterling, and the Asian financial crisis. He's made billions both on the upside of those bubbles and during the panic on the downside.
In fact, he predicted that a housing crash following years of overspending would fuel a severe recession, and he emerged from retirement to earn a 32% gain in 2007 and a positive return in 2008.
Given the severity of the housing and credit bubbles that are now collapsing, and Soros' profit-making track record in crises like these, we would do well to ask him what opportunities he sees today.
The short answer: China
In his book The New Paradigm for Financial Markets, Soros reveals that during his visit to China in late 2005, he "saw greater opportunity than at any other time in my career." He called China -- with its rapid GDP growth and the potentially lucrative privatization of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) -- "the opportunity of a lifetime."
Last year's sell-off in emerging-market stocks hasn't changed his mind. In a recent speech at Shanghai's Fudan University, he said he believes "China has been recovering and its pace of recovery will be faster than the rest of the world."
And that means the opportunity to buy names like Huaneng Power (NYSE: HNP), Mindray Medical (NYSE: MR), American Dairy (NYSE: ADY), and Guangshen Railway (NYSE: GSH) at cheaper valuations than Soros was touting in 2006 won't last long.
Investorman
15 years ago
Be Like Buffett: Whip Inflation With Stocks
John Reese, Validea.com 12.04.09, 7:20 PM ET
Just as it has been a good year for stocks, 2009 has also been a solid year for commodities. Since mid-February, oil prices have more than doubled, and in more recent months gold and silver have surged.
A big reason for the bullish run in commodities has, of course, been the anticipation of inflation. With the government deficit skyrocketing, notable investors including hedge fund guru John Paulson and the great Warren Buffett have said they see major inflation on the horizon.
While that view has many investors snatching up raw commodities like gold bullion, I tend to steer clear of them. While gold and silver have had brief periods of strong performance, their longer-term returns are frankly disappointing. Silver gained virtually no ground from the mid-1970s through the early 2000s, and after gold fell below $500 an ounce in early 1981, it took about a quarter of a century for it to climb back past that mark.
Emcor (EME) and Aeropostale (ARO) are two new additions to the Validea Hot List. Click here for the complete portfolio when you try the Validea Hot List.
To me, the best way to beat inflation is with stocks, because they have the ability to produce increasing revenue and earnings streams by upping prices when inflation hits. I'm not alone here. David Dreman, one of the gurus upon whom I base my guru strategies, has espoused that sentiment, and, despite Buffett's recent comments about inflation, you won't find any gold or silver in Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio.
If you are looking to play the commodities markets, however, I think a better way to do so is by focusing on stocks that should benefit if commodity prices rise. I recently scanned the market using my guru-inspired models on Validea.com to find some strong commodity-related plays. Here are a handful of them that caught my eye.
Anglo American PLC: This London-based firm is involved in the mining of precious materials such as platinum and diamonds; base metals like copper, zinc and nickel; and bulk materials, including coal, steel and iron ore. It operates in 45 countries across six continents, and has a $59 billion market cap. The company has some involvement in silver development, but little gold-related activity after selling off its stake in AngloGold Ashanti Limited to Paulson's group earlier this year.
Anglo American gets approval from the strategy I base on the writings of mutual fund great Peter Lynch. This method considers the stock a "fast-grower" (Lynch's favorite type of investment) because of its strong 20.7% earnings per share growth rate (using an average of the three-, four-, and five-year EPS growth rates).
To find fast-growers selling on the cheap, Lynch famously used the price-to-earnings-to-growth ratio, or P/E/G. When we take Anglo American's 14.1 P/E and that 20.7% growth rate, we get a P/E/G of 0.68. That easily comes in under this model's 1.0 upper limit, a great sign.
Lynch also liked conservatively financed firms, and the model I base on his writings requires companies to have debt/equity ratios below 80%. At 58.3%, Anglo American passes the test.
Nucor: This Charlotte, N.C.-based steel maker produces carbon and alloy steel used in a variety of products, ranging from steel beams to joist girders to fabricated concrete reinforcing steel and beyond. The $13.9 billion market cap firm also bills itself as North America's largest recycler.
Nucor gets approval from my stringent Benjamin Graham-based strategy. The Graham approach is one my best long-term performers--a 10-stock portfolio picked using the model has averaged annual gains of over 15% since I started tracking it in mid-2003. Graham, known as the "father of value investing," was an extremely conservative investor who targeted only the most financially sound stocks in the market. My Graham-inspired model likes Nucor for several balance sheet-related reasons, including its strong 3.96 current ratio (current assets/current liabilities). That nearly doubles this model's 2.0 minimum, a sign that Nucor is a financially secure, very liquid operation.
The Graham approach also targets companies with net current assets greater than their long-term debt. With about $3.1 billion in long-term debt and $3.9 billion in net current assets, Nucor again makes the grade.
Graham also made sure he wasn't paying too much for a stock. And Nucor's price/earnings ratio of 8 (using three-year average earnings) and price/book ratio of 1.87 are good enough to pass the Graham-based model's valuation tests.
Beat the market with help from Buffett, Lynch and Graham. Since July 2003, the Validea Hot List is up 124.2% vs. the S&P's 9.9% gain. Click here to get instant access to the Hot List portfolio.
Imperial Oil Limited: This Canadian integrated oil and natural gas firm has a market cap of more than $32 billion, and has taken in more than $20 billion in sales in the past year.
Imperial is a favorite of my Warren Buffett-based approach, which targets firms with long histories of increasing earnings. Over the past decade, Imperial has upped EPS in all but one year, and that one dip came eight years ago, which impresses this model.
Two other qualities Buffett is known to look for are a "durable competitive advantage" and strong management, and one way he has measured both of those qualities is return on equity. My Buffett-based model requires a company to have produced an average ROE of at least 15% over the past decade; Imperial more than doubles that at 31.7%. My Buffett-based approach also likes that Imperial has only about $30.6 million in debt compared with annual earnings of more than $1.6 billion.
My Lynch-based model is also high on Imperial. It likes the firm's 22% long-term growth rate, 0.91 P/E/G ratio and its tiny 1.5% debt/equity ratio.
Reliance Steel & Aluminum: One of the largest metals service center firms in the U.S., Reliance makes over 100,000 metal products that range from stainless steel to aluminum to brass to copper and beyond. Based in Los Angeles, it has a $3.1 billion market cap.
Reliance gets approval from both my Lynch-based model and my James O'Shaughnessy-inspired growth approach. O'Shaughnessy used a key pair of variables when targeting growth stocks: relative strength and the price/sales ratio. By focusing on stocks with high relative strength scores, you're getting stocks the market is embracing; and by making sure they have low P/S ratios (under 1.5), you make sure you're not overpaying for them. With an RS of 84 and a 0.5 P/S ratio, Reliance looks good on both counts.
The O'Shaughnessy approach doesn't look for stocks with huge growth rates; instead, it targets those that have upped EPS in each of the past five years, regardless of magnitude. Reliance has done just that.
My Lynch-based model, meanwhile, likes Reliance's 39.8% long-term growth rate, strong 0.64 P/E/G ratio and solid debt/equity ratio of 43%.
Alon USA Energy: Based in Dallas, Alon was spun off by an Israeli firm back in 2005. It refines and markets petroleum products, operating mostly in the South Central, Southwestern and Western U.S. It also produces asphalt and operates more than 300 convenience stores.
Alon gets approval from the strategy I base on the writings of hedge fund guru Joel Greenblatt. His stunningly simple two-step formula produced great long-term results for him, and my Greenblatt-based model has excelled in 2009, up about 50% this year.
The two variables this model examines are return on capital, which assesses whether the firm is a strong business, and earnings yield, which assesses whether its stock is selling on the cheap. Alon's return on total capital of nearly 290% ranks eighth-best out of the thousands of stocks I monitor, and its earnings yield of 12.2% comes in in the top 150. Together, they make Alon the 13th-best stock in the market right now, according to this approach.
MrBankRoll
16 years ago
Buffett's Berkshire: Buying All of Burlington?
03/30/09 - 01:53 PM EDT
When evaluating rumors, you have to decide if the chatter meets the three Vs: volume, volatility and valuation. Let's apply it to today's speculation about billionaire investor Warren Buffett.
Berkshire Hathaway, which owns 22% of Burlington Northern, is being chatted up as a potential buyer of Burlington Northern along with Chinese railroad operator Guangshen Railway.
Guangshen Railway is trading down 71 cents to $16.11 today, which we could attribute to the 3.4% selloff in the broader market as easily as the rumor of its interest in Burlington Northern. Berkshire, led by Buffett, is also down 4.8%.
So let's break down the three Vs to see if Burlington Northern could indeed become part of the recent takeover wave:
Volatility: Implied volatility peaked at 55% in early March and stood at 47% Friday. Today, Burlington Northern April calls spiked up to 65% again, well surpassing the March highs. May implied volatility stood at 63%.
Volume: Normal full-session stock-trading volume over the last three months has been 4 million shares, but in the first two hours alone today 2.3 million changed hands.
Valuation: Current valuation of Burlington Northern is $20 billion, and our models indicate that a takeover would be at least $26 billion, which is a tough raise right now.
So Burlington Northern meets only two of our three V's, but that doesn't mean there will not be more talk as Burlington Northern trades at about $60.50 per share, down on the day but still double some of its biggest competitors.
http://www.thestreet.com/_aol/story/10479425/1/buffetts-berkshire-buying-all-of-burlington.html?cm_ven=AOL&cm_cat=Free&cm_pla=Feed&cm_ite=Feed
Investorman
16 years ago
5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Guangshen Railway
http://www.fool.com/investing/international/2008/12/19/5-star-stocks-poised-to-pop-guangshen-railway.aspx
Brian D. Pacampara
December 19, 2008
Based on the aggregated intelligence of 120,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, Chinese railroad operator Guangshen Railway (NYSE: GSH) has earned a coveted five-star ranking. Our data has shown that five-star stocks outperform the market by a significant margin; conversely, one-star stocks have woefully lagged the market average.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Guangshen's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Guangshen facts
Headquarters (Founded)
Shenzhen, China (1996)
Market Cap
$2.65 Billion
Industry
Railroads
Trailing-12-Month Revenue
$1.72 Billion
Management
Chairman He Yuhua (Since June 2007)
General Manager Shen Yi (Since October 2008)
Return on Equity (Average, Past Three Years)
5.8%
Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.
On CAPS, 521 of the 538 members who have rated Guangshen -- some 97% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These Foolish bulls include CAPS All-Star Theresewin and coregonus.
Last week, Theresewin urged our community to ride Guangshen all the way to gains: "[Get] on board while you still can ... China NEEDS its rail system to better integrate its country and is investing big bucks to do so!"
In a pitch from last month, coregonus agreed and elaborated on the strong long-term trends supporting the stock:
Backing up my faith in railways, and that China is totally committed to rail in the long term -- if you have ever ridden their hi speed mag-lev train in Shanghai you get the depth of their commitment -- they know not everyone will have cars, it would not work there. As more cities get built out, trains will too -- and at the end there are real assets in the train business and freight on rail has very long legs (or tracks).
Investorman
16 years ago
5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Guangshen Railway
http://www.fool.com/investing/international/2008/12/19/5-star-stocks-poised-to-pop-guangshen-railway.aspx
Brian D. Pacampara
December 19, 2008
Based on the aggregated intelligence of 120,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, Chinese railroad operator Guangshen Railway (NYSE: GSH) has earned a coveted five-star ranking. Our data has shown that five-star stocks outperform the market by a significant margin; conversely, one-star stocks have woefully lagged the market average.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Guangshen's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Guangshen facts
Headquarters (Founded)
Shenzhen, China (1996)
Market Cap
$2.65 Billion
Industry
Railroads
Trailing-12-Month Revenue
$1.72 Billion
Management
Chairman He Yuhua (Since June 2007)
General Manager Shen Yi (Since October 2008)
Return on Equity (Average, Past Three Years)
5.8%
Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.
On CAPS, 521 of the 538 members who have rated Guangshen -- some 97% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These Foolish bulls include CAPS All-Star Theresewin and coregonus.
Last week, Theresewin urged our community to ride Guangshen all the way to gains: "[Get] on board while you still can ... China NEEDS its rail system to better integrate its country and is investing big bucks to do so!"
In a pitch from last month, coregonus agreed and elaborated on the strong long-term trends supporting the stock:
Backing up my faith in railways, and that China is totally committed to rail in the long term -- if you have ever ridden their hi speed mag-lev train in Shanghai you get the depth of their commitment -- they know not everyone will have cars, it would not work there. As more cities get built out, trains will too -- and at the end there are real assets in the train business and freight on rail has very long legs (or tracks).
Investorman
16 years ago
Guangshen Railway Announces Results for the First Three Quarters of 2008; Net Profit Reaches RMB1,062 Million
Tuesday October 28, 7:53 am ET
HONG KONG, Oct. 28 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Guangshen Railway Company Limited ("Guangshen Railway" or the "Company") (HKEx Share Code: 525; SSE Share Code: 601333; ADS Ticket Symbol: GSH) today announced the unaudited operating results of the Company and its subsidiaries (collectively, the "Group") for the nine months ended September 30, 2008 (the "Period").
During the Period, under the PRC Accounting Standards, the Group realized a consolidated revenue from operation of RMB8,692 million, representing an increase of 16.80% over the corresponding period last year. Net profit attributable to equity holders of the Company amounted to RMB1,062 million (Corresponding period of 2007: RMB1,137 million). Earnings per share was RMB0.15 (Corresponding period of 2007: RMB0.16).
Mr. He Yuhua, Chairman of the Company, said, "In the first three quarters of 2008, the Company's passenger and freight transportation overcame the negative impact caused by the snowstorms in early 2008 and fully resumed normal operation. During the Period, the Fourth Rail Line between Guangzhou and Shenzhen and the high-speed "CRH" train sets of the Company operated smoothly. The long-distance passenger trains from Guangzhou to Zhengzhou, which commenced operation in July 2008, further boosted the development of the long-distance passenger trains operation of the Company. Besides, during the peak seasons in summer holidays, Mid-autumn Festival and "1 October" Golden Week of 2008, the Company recorded satisfactory occupation rate of passenger trains. Nevertheless, net profit of the Company witnessed a slight decline year-on-year as the conversion of bank loan interests into expenses for the construction of Guangshen Fourth Rail Line resulted in an increase in finance costs of the Company, and the gradual increase of the income tax rate for the Company from 15% to 25% since 1 January 2008 also led to an increase in income tax expense compared to that of the corresponding period last year."
Looking ahead, Mr. He said, "With the embarkation of sizeable railway construction projects in the coming ten years in the PRC, coupled with the rigorous development of an one-hour-traveling-circle railway system in Guangdong Province, the Company will benefit from increasing passenger traffic and demand for freight transportation in the region over the long-run. From now on, the Company will fully leverage the capacity advantage of the Guangshen Fourth Rail Line and "CRH" trains sets, and continue to promote the "as-frequent-as-buses" model of Guangzhou-Shenzhen trains, with a view to boosting the development among cities in the Pearl River Delta region. The Company will proactively develop the long-distance passenger trains operation so as to ensure a comprehensive and solid growth of the operations of the Company."
Investorman
16 years ago
Guangshen Railway Announces 2008 Interim Results
Wednesday August 27, 9:28 am ET
Volumes of Passenger and Freight Transportation Increase, But Net Profit Decreases Due to Increase in Finance Costs
-- Operating revenues increased by 18.83% year-on-year to RMB5,620 million.
-- Profit from operations increased by 7.91% year-on-year to RMB924 million.
-- Profit attributable to equity holders amounted to RMB674 million (2007 interim: RMB746 million).
HONG KONG, Aug. 27 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Guangshen Railway Company Limited ("Guangshen Railway" or the "Company") (HKEx Share Code: 525; SSE Share Code: 601333; American Depositary Shares ("ADS") Ticket Symbol: GSH) today announced the unaudited interim results of the Company and its subsidiaries (the "Group") for the six months ended June 30, 2008 (the "Period").
During the Period, operating revenues of the Group amounted to RMB5,620 million, representing an increase of 18.83% over the corresponding period of 2007. Profit from operations increased by 7.91% year-on-year to RMB924 million. Profit attributable to equity holders amounted to RMB674 million (2007 interim: RMB746 million). The board of directors of the Company does not recommend the payment of any interim dividend for 2008.
Mr. He Yuhua, Chairman of the Company said, "In the first half of 2008, the Company minimized the negative impact caused by the heavy rains and snowstorm at the beginning of the year upon the operation of railway transportation through implementing measures to increase traffic and revenues, consolidating and optimizing transportation resources and improving transportation efficiency. The Company achieved safety and stability in its operation of transportation as well as a stable growth in transportation revenues. Profit attributable to equity holders decreased year-on-year due to an increase in both finance costs and income tax expenses over the corresponding period last year."
During the Period, passenger delivery volume of the Company was 40.87 million, a year-on-year increase of 16.73%. Revenue from passenger transportation rose 21.98% year-on-year to RMB3,262 million. Of such amount, the passenger delivery volumes of Guangzhou-Shenzhen trains, Hong Kong Through Trains and long-distance trains amounted to 15.57 million, 1.56 million and 23.74 million respectively, representing year-on-year increases of 53.66%, 3.79% and 1.56% respectively and realising revenues of RMB962 million, RMB192 million and RMB2,107 million respectively.
Passenger delivery volume and revenue of Guangzhou-Shenzhen trains increased mainly due a significant increase in the frequency and capacity of Guangzhou-Shenzhen trains resulted from two adjustments to the train schedules. In addition, after one year of operation of the CRHs, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen trains have further established its advantages. The fact that the Qingming Festival, the May Day and the Dragon Boat Festival have become statutory holidays also led to an increase in short-distance passenger traffic on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen trains. Meanwhile, with the optimization and consolidation of the transportation resources of Shenzhen-Guangzhou-Pingshi Railway, the connection between Guangzhou-Shenzhen trains and long-distance trains has been running more smoothly and efficiently.
In respect of long-distance trains, despite the heavy rains and snowstorm at the beginning of the year, which led to a substantial decrease in delivery volume of long-distance passengers during the Spring Festival Holidays, passenger delivery volume and revenue increased slightly during the Period. The growth was mainly attributable to a year-on-year increase in transportation capacity resulted from the successful commencement of operation of trains from Guangzhou to Shanghai, from Guangzhou to Xi'an and from Shenzhen to Shaoguan. Furthermore, the Qingming Festival Holidays, the May Day Holidays and the Dragon Boat Festival Holidays led to a substantial increase in the number of passengers traveling between cities within the Pan Pearl River Delta.
During the Period, tonnage of freight transported by the Company increased by 8.86% year-on-year to 34.55 million tonnes; and revenues from freight transportation increased by 14.15% year-on-year to RMB636 million. The increase in freight revenues of the Company was mainly attributable to certain increases in per tonne-kilometer tariffs. Additionally, the completion of the Fourth Rail Line between Guangzhou and Shenzhen led to an obvious increase in inbound freight for the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway, which together the increase in delivery of high-tariff goods contributed to the increase in freight revenues.
During the Period, despite the increase in volumes and revenues of passenger and freight transportation and the fact that the Company has dedicated to implementing measures to control costs and expenses, profit attributable to equity holders decreased year-on-year due to a decline in revenues in the first quarter as a result of the heavy rains and snowstorm at the beginning of this year and the continuous increase in the prices of railway-related production materials.
Looking forward to the Company's development in the second half of 2008, Mr. He said, "The Company's stable development of the entire transportation business will face a mixed condition with opportunities and challenges. The optimization of industry structure driven by the economic momentum of the Pearl River Delta region and further implementation of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (the "CEPA") will bring about more opportunities for the operation and development of the Company. However, the Company will continue to face pressure resulting from the increase in prices of production materials. The Company will strictly control various costs and expenses and take effective measures to boost transportation traffic and revenues to mitigate the effects of the heavy rains and snowstorm at the beginning of the year and price hikes of production materials. As to the passenger transportation business, the Company will utilize the transportation capacity of the Fourth Rail Line between Guangzhou and Shenzhen and the "CRH" train sets, optimize the "As-frequent-as-buses" operation model of our Guangzhou-Shenzhen trains, and vigorously expand the long-distance passenger transportation business. Furthermore, the Company will attract more passengers during summer vacation, the Mid-autumn Holidays and the National Day Holidays to further increase the occupation rate of passenger trains, with a view to fully accelerating the business growth of the Company."
Guangshen Railway Company Limited was established in 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 respectively in May 1996. The Company is currently the only PRC railway enterprise with its shares listed overseas. In December 2006, the Company returned to the A share market and successfully listed its shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The Company holds the sole operating rights of the Guangshen Railway, one of the most modern railways in the PRC. The Company is mainly engaged in railway passenger and freight transportation businesses between Guangzhou and Shenzhen, long-distance passenger transportation services, as well as the Hong Kong Through Train passenger service in cooperation with Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation ("KCRC") of Hong Kong. As at June 30, 2008, the Company operated 216 pairs of passenger trains in accordance with its daily train schedule, including 100 pairs of high-speed trains between Guangzhou and Shenzhen, 103 pairs of long- distance trains, and 13 pairs of Guangzhou-Hong Kong through-trains.
Investorman
16 years ago
The silk railroad
Nothing should get investors more excited than when the shares of an attractive company take a tumble. Last October, for example, Guangshen Railway was highlighted as one of CAPS' top-rated Asian stocks, but as my Foolish colleague Todd Wenning noted at the time, the company's valuation seemed steep.
Well, after eight months and a nearly 50% price decline, Fools finally have the chance to jump aboard Guangshen at more reasonable, possibly even bargain, levels.
As Todd mentioned, Guangshen's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was nearly double that of its U.S. counterparts Burlington Northern (NYSE: BNI) and Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP). But thanks to the well-documented strength in U.S. railroad stocks, and Guangshen's weakness ever since, all three companies currently trade at roughly the same P/E. And of course, our CAPS members are just as fond of Guangshen's financials, competitive advantages, and growth opportunities today as they have been in the past.
For those unfamiliar to the Guangshen story, it is the sole railroad company operating between Guangzhou and Shenzhen in China's Pearl River Delta (a.k.a. the busiest route in the country). That description alone should at least have you thinking about the intriguing bounce-back possibilities, so here's a pair of bullish CAPS comments to help you aboard.
CAPS player NetscribeServcs likes the big picture:
The demand for railway transportation is expected to remain strong with the robust economic growth in China. The growth in rail transportation is much below the economy growth. The Chinese Government is investing approximately $12.8 billion by 2020 to expand the railway network by 35%. Tracks are being built, but at a slower pace and China is witnessing a rise in demand for rail transportation.
CAPS All-Star kamp2 touches on Guangshen's seemingly limitless growth potential:
Miles and miles of space. Millions upon millions of people. Tons upon tons of freight to transport. New frontiers wherever they need to go. Railways will get them there first and it's going to happen fast. GSH will be the road to ride in CHINA.
Investorman
17 years ago
Guangshen Railway Announces 2007 Annual Results
Wednesday April 23, 8:25 am ET
Net Profit Surges 85.5% to RMB1,431 Million
-- Total revenues amounted to RMB10,509 million, an increase of 192.4% as compared to 2006
-- Profit from operation amounted to RMB1,765 million, an increase of 82.9%
-- Profit attributable to equity holders amounted to RMB1,431 million, an increase of 85.5%.
HONG KONG, April 23 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Guangshen Railway Company Limited ("Guangshen Railway" or the "Company") (HKEx: 525; SSE: 601333; ADS: GSH) today announced the audited operating results of the Company and its subsidiaries (the "Group") for the year ended December 31, 2007 (the "Year").
For the year of 2007, total revenues of the Group amounted to RMB10,509 million, representing an increase of 192.4% as compared to 2006. Profit from operation amounted to RMB1,765 million, an increase of approximately 82.9% year-on-year. Profit attributable to equity holders amounted to RMB1,431 million, an increase of 85.5% year-on-year. The board of directors of the Company recommended the payment of a final dividend of RMB0.08 per share for the year 2007 (2006: RMB0.08 per share).
Mr. He Yuhua, Chairman of the Company, said, "The Company made several crucial breakthroughs in 2007. With the sixth-round implementation of the railway speed-up project and a large-scale operation of the Company's domestically manufactured high-speed electric train sets ("CRH"), the overall efficiency and travel comfort of the Company's trains improved substantially in 2007. In addition, the completion and opening of the fourth rail line between Guangzhou and Shenzhen, as well as the Company's successful acquisition of Guangzhou -- Pingshi Railway's operating assets during the Year have substantially expanded the Company's asset size and transportation capacity. Such favorable factors contributed to the significant growth in the Company's overall operating results."
Passenger transportation business is the most important business of the Company. In 2007, the passenger delivery volume of the Company was 73.053 million, representing an increase of 103.1% as compared to 2006. Of such amount, the passenger delivery volumes of Guangzhou-Shenzhen trains, Hong Kong Through Trains and long-distance trains were 24.725 million, 3.192 million and 45.137 million respectively, representing an increase of 11.2%, a slight decrease of 0.5% and an increase of 328.8% respectively as compared to 2006. Revenues from passenger transportation amounted to RMB5.83 billion, an increase of 123.6%.
The remarkable increases in the Company's revenues and volumes of passenger transportation were not only attributable to the sixth round implementation of the railway speed-up project, as well as the large-scale operation of high-speed electric train sets, CRH, which improved the efficiency and comfort of the trains. In addition, the fact that the Xintang- Shigu section of southbound Guangzhou-Shenzhen expressway nearby has been entirely closed for renovation starting from October, 2007 has diverted part of bus passengers to train transportation, which led to a surge in passenger delivery volume on Guangzhou-Shenzhen trains. Also, the incorporation of the long-distance transportation businesses of Guangzhou-Pingshi Railway subsequent to the Company's acquisition of the railway transportation assets thereof at the beginning of the year, has resulted in significant increases of the delivery volume and revenue of long-distance trains of the Company. The passenger delivery volume of Hong Kong Through Trains decreased slightly, mainly due to the construction of the Fourth Rail Line during the beginning of the previous year, and also the diversion of Through Train passengers caused by the improvement of the operating efficiency and service quality of Guangzhou-Shenzhen trains.
During the Year, total tonnage of freight transported by the Company amounted to 71.010 million tonnes, representing a significant increase of 131.2%; revenues from freight transportation were RMB1.33 billion, an increase of 134.5%. The remarkable increases in freight volume and revenues were due to the incorporation of the freight transportation business of Guangzhou- Pingshi Railway, following the completion of the Company's acquisition of Guangzhou-Pingshi Railway.
Regarding the Company's development in 2008, Mr. He said, "While the Company's passenger volume, freight volume and revenues reported impressive growth after the acquisition of Guangzhou-Pingshi Railway, the Company will continue to press ahead and enhance its business. Apart from a continuous optimization and consolidation of the railway operating assets of Guangzhou- Shenzhen Railway and Guangzhou-Pingshi Railway, and an optimization of the "As-frequent-as-bus" operation of Guangzhou-Shenzhen intercity trains, the Company will operate more local trains according to market trends, as well as expanding long-distance passenger trains service. As for the freight business, the Company will continue to promote the marketing of this business segment, improving the deployment and organization of freight trains and operating more freight through trains, in order to elevate the Company's business to a higher level."
Guangshen Railway Company Limited was established in 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 respectively in May 1996. The Company is currently the only PRC railway enterprise with its shares listed overseas. In December 2006, the Company returned to the A share market and successfully listed its shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The Company holds the sole operating rights of Guangshen Railway, one of the most modern railways in the PRC. The Company is mainly engaged in railway passenger and freight transportation businesses between Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Pingshi, long- distance passenger transportation services, as well as the Hong Kong Through Train passenger service in cooperation with MTR Corporation Limited ("MTR") of Hong Kong. As at December 31, 2007, the Company operated 195 pairs of passenger trains, including 80 pairs of passenger trains between Guangzhou and Shenzhen, 102 pairs of long-distance passenger trains and 13 pairs of Through Trains.
News
Market Data
Register for Free to get streaming real-time quotes, interactive charts, live options flow, and more.
stocktrademan
10 years ago
