Sinochem International (Holding) Co Ltd, the Shanghai-listed arm of China's largest chemical products trader Sinochem Group, posted a 316 per cent increase in its net profit during the first nine months of the year.

Net profits stood at 745 million yuan (US$90 million), compared with 179 million yuan (US$21.6 million) a year earlier, the company said in its third quarter report.

The remarkable increase came against a very slight rise in the company's revenues from 8.79 billion yuan (US$1.06 billion) to 8.46 billion yuan (US$1.02 billion) and was largely a result of a surging profit rate in its staple business.

From January to September, the profit rate increased by 8.77 percentage points to 15.23 per cent compared with the same period last year, said the company.

Coke, iron ore and fertilizer businesses were its most profitable, sources from the company said.

In particular, high coke prices on the international market have been a backbone for the company's excellent performance.

The price of the coke, a raw material used by steelmakers, peaked at US$400 per ton this year.

Gross profit rates for the coke business stood at 35.78 per cent from January to September and contributed about 70 per cent to the company's gross profits.

The trader exported a total of 463,000 tons of coke in the first half of the year and has an additional quota to export another 770,000 tons in the second half of the year. The company's exports in the third quarter are currently not available.

Analysts say Sinochem International is also benefiting from China's blistering economy.

The nation, registering a 9.5 gross domestic product growth in the first nine months of the year, needs a great deal of raw materials such as rubber, metals and plastics to fuel its booming industries such as the auto, manufacturing and construction sectors.

Based on the macroeconomic climate, the company spoke optimistically of the performance in last quarter.

"Our business will steadily surge in the fourth quarter of the year," the report said. "The full-year net profit will be more than double of that in the previous year."

In 2003, Sinochem International notched up a net profit of 261 million yuan (US$31.6 million).

Source: China Daily