Efforts by China’s leading injection moulding machinery manufacturer Haitian (Hong Kong; www.haitian.com) to “cultivate new customers” while rationalising its distribution channels and production processes at the height of the H1 2009 demand crisis paid off, the company’s results for H1 2010 show. Over the six-month period, sales revenue rose 135% year-on-year to CNY 3.23 bn (about EUR 373m) and pre-tax profit soared by 369% to CNY 545.6m (about EUR 63m). Net profit increased by more than 310% to CNY 453m.

As the market recovered, Haitian said its staff worked with “inexhaustible momentum” to fill incoming orders, and monthly sales volumes surged to “record levels.” Even better, the Chinese machinery maker said, “our performance in the first half of 2010 exceeded the pre-financial-crisis peak in the first half of 2008 by approximately 56.9%.”

Haitian attributes its strong recovery to the “overall rapid growth” of the industry and the increase in its market share. It adds that the continued recovery of China’s economy, improving capital investment confidence and the consumer stimulus packages of the Chinese government “created a favourable environment” for the machinery sector in the People’s Republic, which accounts for about 70% of its sales.

The company points out that the financial crisis has accelerated industry concentration by eliminating the weaker and underperforming players while benefiting its high performance, competitively priced, products in competition with overseas brands. It notes that the financial crisis created a shift in demand from “expensive imported machines” to local machines with attractive price-performance ratios and reliable after-sales service. Not only domestic customers are showing a preference for Chinese-made machinery, Haitian asserts. While its machinery sales in the People’s Republic in H1 2010 rose 135.7% to CNY 2.38 bn, deliveries to international customers picked up by 152.6% to CNY 792.3m.

Looking to H2 2010 and beyond, the Chinese injection moulding specialist said it is confident that the injection moulding market in the People’s Republic will continue to enjoy healthy growth on the back of the country’s “sound economic development.” Based on current order backlog it estimates that deliveries in Q3 will remain at a level comparable to H1. Increasing demand from downstream industries such as building, E&E, household appliances and automotive, along with new Chinese regulations, will encourage machinery customers to upgrade to newer energy- and emissions-saving models.

e-Service:
Comprehensive Haitian interim report for first-half 2010 as a PDF document