Datang Telecom signals return to profit and eases delisting worries

Datang Telecom and Technology, a Shanghai-listed equipment vendor, said it would rebound to a profit for last year after two consecutive years of losses, easing concerns that the company will be forced to delist.

The firm also denied speculation that it planned to acquire Datang Mobile's assets from the parent company. Datang Mobile is one of the patent holders for the home-grown TD-SCDMA mobile technology.

Datang Telecom, which provides telecommunications and information technology products, had net losses of 718 million yuan in 2006 and 696 million yuan in 2005.

The company's stock was labelled as 'ST', or special treatment, on the Shanghai bourse. It risks losing its listing status if it fails to make a profit this year.

Datang Telecom said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange that various businesses such as software development, telecommunications cable and microelectronics recorded growth last year, while the loss in its telecommunications equipment business narrowed.

The company booked 94.38 million yuan in profits by selling shares in Gohigh Data Networks Technology, a voice-over-internet-protocol solution developer.

For the first nine months of last year, Datang Telecom made a net profit of 31.6 million yuan, with 3.35 million yuan in the third quarter.