LONDON (Alliance News) - China New Energy Ltd Monday said it remains positive about its prospects, although it is maintaining its cautious approach, and reported a widened pretax loss for its first half.
The engineering and technology company reported a pretax loss of CNY5.5 million for the half year to end-June, widened from a pretax loss of CNY4.5 million a year before, as a rise in revenue to CNY26.7 million from CNY16.4 million was offset by higher cost of sales and operating expenses.
The company said that due to the cyclical nature of its business it usually makes a loss in the first half, as most projects are completed and paid for in its second half. It noted that the first half had been challenging for its core equipment, procurement and construction business due to the continued depressed ethanol price, and lower demand for ethanol-related products.
"Looking ahead, we remain confident that low-carbon biofuel will be a clear alternative to fossil fuel and growth will return to the bioenergy sector. We continue to look to the long-term future with confidence," said Chairman Yu Weijun in a statement.
Shares in China New Energy were down 5.2% at 0.792 pence on Monday.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; hanassmith@alliancenews.com; @HanaSSAllNews
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