H-share Guangshen Railway owns and operates the Guangzhou-Shenzhen railway line.
The firm recently said it would take stakes in speed parcel and luggage delivery rail firm Sino Rail Express China, and electric locomotive maker Zhuzhou Electric Locomotives Works before their planned A-share listings.
On sales of HK$1.98 billion, Guangshen's net profit for the year to December 31, 2000, came in at 492 million yuan (about HK$463 million), 7 per cent lower year on year.
A 9 per cent growth in revenue was driven by growth in passenger (up 10 per cent) and cargo (up 3 per cent) volumes, while the firm's operating costs, particularly staff costs (up 10 per cent), were higher than expected.
In a report concerning Guangshen's results, ING Barings downgraded its recommendation for the firm from 'buy' to 'hold' despite forecasts of continued volume growth and an A-share issue in the third quarter, last year. ING revised its price target for the company to HK$1.15.
Graphic: THEN05gwz
