Northeast Electrical Transmission & Transformation Machinery Manufacturing expects to maintain its gross profit margin and turnover of more than 1.56 billion yuan (about HK$1.45 billion) this year. Chairman Xiang Yongchun said the company had already secured sales orders worth 1.2 billion yuan, or about 70 per cent of its full-year sales target. Last year's sales turnover was 1.56 billion yuan. Net profit edged up only 0.3 per cent to 84.02 million yuan last year, despite a 15 per cent surge in turnover. Sales of new products reached 557.9 million yuan, or 36 per cent of the total. Gross profit margin fell from 30 per cent to 27 per cent last year, mainly attributable to a cut in product prices. Prices for several major products were cut 6-7 per cent. Mr Xiang said the company would continue to hold about a 40 per cent market share this year. He said China's power installation capacity had been growing steadily every year. Assuming an economic growth of about 8-9 per cent this year, the power industry would grow by about 6 per cent. This year, the company would pay greater attention to marketing. Mr Xiang said the company had not seen any decline in sales orders from Southeast Asia despite the regional financial turmoil. It would expand new markets in South Africa and South America this year. Mr Xiang said the company would tender for a Three Gorges project in the second half of the year but details of the project were not available. The mainland aimed to raise the total installed capacity of electricity to 290 million kilowatts by 2000, 500 million kW by 2010 and up to 800 million kW by 2020, thus providing a huge domestic market, he said.