Profits of Chinese train maker CRRC drop in 2016

BEIJING - Chinese train maker CRRC Corporation Ltd said Wednesday that its net profit declined 4.42 percent year on year to 11.3 billion yuan ($1.64 billion) in 2016.

The world's largest supplier of rail transit equipment said its business revenue fell 5.04 percent to reach 229.72 billion yuan during the period.

This was the first full year of operations for the company, which was formed in June 2015 through the merger of China's top two train makers -- China North Railway and China South Railway.

CRRC said railway equipment sales fell 17.9 percent last year due to shrinking orders and falling delivery while sales of urban rail transit equipment rose 10.27 percent year on year.

The company's revenue from orders on the Chinese mainland dipped 2.17 percent from a year earlier, while that from overseas orders plunged 28.3 percent year on year.

CRRC said it received new orders worth 262.6 billion yuan in 2016, of which $8.1 billion were in overseas orders, up 40 percent from a year earlier.

The company's share prices climbed 0.29 percent to 10.5 yuan Wednesday on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.