Buoyant Chinese market drives CCCC growth

China Communications Construction Company, one of China's largest contractors, saw its revenues rise + 26.8% last year to CNY 227 billion (US$ 33.2 billion). Net profits were up +18.5% to CNY 7.2 billion (US$ 1.05 billion). As of the end of 2009, the company's order backlog stood at a massive CNY 426 billion (US$ 62.4 billion) - an increase of 27.4% on a year previously, thanks to an order intake last year of CNY 360 billion (US$ 52.8 billion).

The company's infrastructure construction business claimed the biggest slice of revenues again last year, with sales of CNY 166 billion (US$ 24.3 billion), an increase of +35.6% on the previous year.

There was also a steep rise in the segment's new contracts, with its backlog rising +34.7% over the course of the year to CNY 358 billion (US$ 52.3 billion). Most notable within this was the road and bridge segment, where the value of new contracts doubled compared to last year. In addition, China Communications Construction signed US$ 9.02 billion of overseas contracts in 2009 - a +3.8% rise on 2008.

Commenting on prospects for this year, a company statement said sounded an optimistic note, highlighting the Chinese road and rail construction markets in particular. "The overall development environment is likely to improve compared to 2009, although the conditions remain difficult," it said.