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No.1 Chinese Automaker SAIC Q1 Profit Up 7%

BEIJING, April 29 (Reuters) - SAIC Motor Corp Ltd , China's largest automaker, reported a 7 percent year-on-year rise in net profit for the first quarter on Wednesday, despite the country's economic slowdown weighing on car sales.

SAIC, which has joint ventures with Volkswagen AG and GM in addition to making its own brand of vehicles, turned a net profit of 7.5 billion yuan ($1.21 billion), according to unaudited financial results filed with the stock exchange.

The Shanghai-based automaker's revenue rose 0.9 percent to 169.9 billion yuan from a year earlier. That roughly tracks with a 1 percent rise in the company's vehicle sales for the first quarter, which lagged behind the overall market.

Vehicle sales in China, the world's largest car market, rose 3.9 percent in the first quarter and are predicted to grow 7 percent this year, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said. ($1 = 6.1989 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Jake Spring; Editing by Anand Basu)