CHINA International Trust and Investment Corp (CITIC) made a net profit of 1.67 billion yuan (about HK$1.53 billion) last year, down sharply from 3.3 billion yuan in 1993, when it reported an extraordinary gain on a sale of shares, an official says.

The official attributed the sharp fall in profits to an extraordinary gain of 2.2 billion yuan in 1993 from the sale of a 12 per cent stake in Hongkong Telecom to CITIC Pacific by CITIC Hong Kong.

In fact, after discounting that gain, CITIC's profits had grown last year compared with 1993, said the official, who declined to be named.

Net profit in 1992 was just 379 million yuan.