March 26, 2008

China's Zhongpin see strong revenue growth as pork prices rise.

Chinese meat processor Zhongpin Tuesday (March 25, 2008) announced a doubling of full-year revenues of USUS$291.4 million for 2007, compared to 2006.

Fourth-quarter revenue totalled US$100.6 million, an increase of 111 percent.

Full-year gross profit was up 81.9 percent, climbing to US$37.5 million, while net income rose to US$0.80 per share.

The company attributed its strong growth to rising pork prices in China and increased market penetration.

Zhu Xianfu, Zhongpin CEO, said production at the company has been able to boost production at its new facilities more quickly than expected and it is ahead of schedule in bringing its next round of facilities on line.

These would help continued strong organic growth in 2008, he added.

Zhongpin said it would continue to expand its production capacity in the coming year through new facilities and acquisitions.

The group predicted revenues for the 2008 fiscal year of between US$490 million and US$520 million, gross margin of about 13 percent and net income of between US$30 million and US$33 million.

Zhongpin was approved for listing on Nasdaq's Global Select Markets in December last year. At that time, it announced plans to double its annual production capacity to 54,000 tonnes by September 2008.