Potent Partners Lift SAIC in Wobbly Times 动荡时期合作夥伴撑起上汽的业绩

By newsdoug on August 30, 2011

SAIC looks like good nameplate in tough times Leading Chinese car maker SAIC Motor (Shanghai: 600104) has just posted its latest results that look quite impressive, underscoring that having strong foreign partners is critical in the highly competitive auto industry as it heads into a major slowdown. SAIC said its profit in the first six months of the year cruised ahead at a rapid 46 percent clip to 8.58 billion yuan, or about $1.3 billion — not bad for a market where growth has slowed dramatically this year and is only expected to reach 5-10 percent following the end of government incentives to boost sales during the global financial crisis. (English article) SAIC’s powerful joint ventures with China’s top two foreign car makers, General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Volkswagen (Frankfurt: VOWG) are clearly a critical part of its continued success, as many of its domestic rivals face a more bleak future with their less-known brands and weaker reputations for quality and after-sales support. Last week former domestic high-flyer BYD (HKEx: 1211), backed by US billionaire investor Warren Buffett, posted a 98 percent plunge in its latest profit (English article), while somewhat stronger domestic rival Geely (HKEx: 165), which made headlines last year with its landmark purchase of Volvo, also posted a modest 17 percent gain in first-half profit. (English article) SAIC should continue to outperform the rest of the market in terms of profit growth for at least the next couple of years, though it too could see its bottom line come under pressure amid growing price wars as companies vie for customers in a cooling market. In the latest development on that front, a GM executive told foreign media that GM’s SAIC-GM-Wuling has recently slashed prices of its low-cost minivans to offset slowing sales, though he added the promotions will be short-lived. (English article) We’ll see.

Bottom line: SAIC’s tie-ups with GM and VW will help it outperform the auto sector during its latest downturn, but a building price war will also pressure its profits.

中国最大汽车制造商–上海汽车集团股份有限公司(600104.SS)最新财报业绩靓丽，突出在竞争高度激烈、且增长放缓的汽车行业，拥有强大的海外合作夥伴至关重要。上汽业绩报告称，上半年实现归属于上市公司股东的净利润85.76亿元人民币（13亿美元），同比增长46.09%，鉴于今年中国车市增速大幅下滑，这样的业绩已经相当不错了。上汽与中国市场中的两大海外汽车厂商–通用汽车GM.O、大众汽车(VOWG.DE: 行情)建立的合资企业显然是上汽持续成功的一个关键因素。相比之下，国内很多竞争对手因为品牌知名度低、质量声誉一般，售後服务不过硬等，所面临的前景要黯淡很多。上周，国内另一家汽车厂商比亚迪(1211.HK; 002594.SZ)近期利润同比跌幅高达98%，另外一家汽车厂商吉利(0165.HK)中期净利按年不过增长17%。至少在未来数年内，上汽利润表现仍应优于整体市场状况，不过随着中国车市逐步降温，汽车行业价格战渐行渐近，未来上汽利润可能承压。一名通用汽车高管告诉海外媒体，上汽通用五菱近日已经降价销售低价小货车，以提振低迷销量。不过他并指出促销活动不会太长。今後到底如何？我们将拭目以待。

一句话：上汽与通用汽车和大众联合，有助于上汽业绩在最近的车市颓势中鹤立鸡群，但越来越近的价格战也会对其利润造成压力。