SAIC Motors H1 net profit down

SAIC Motor Corp Ltd., the listed unit of China’s largest carmaker, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC), said first half net profit fell 27.64% year-on-year to 1.965 billion yuan (US$286.86 million) due to expenses incurred following its acquisition of Nanjing Automobile Group. The company said it sold more than 990,000 cars in the six-month period, up 17.6 % year-on-year. However, sales growth slowed markedly in the second quarter, and the company failed to meet its sales target for the first half. Rising raw material costs also hurt results, the company said. SAIC Motor said Chinese car demand growth would ease for the rest of the year. (August 29, 2008)