Ping An Insurance profit almost doubles

    PING An Insurance Group Co. of China Ltd., China’s second-largest insurer by market capitalization, reported yesterday its profit for the third quarter almost doubled on strong growth in its core life insurance business.

    Net profit rose to 10.5 billion yuan (US$1.72 billion) in the quarter ended September from 5.4 billion yuan a year ago, the company said. Chinese insurers’ financial results are prone to wild swings, due to the way they are required to mark the value of their investment portfolios to present market value. Banking unit Ping An Bank Co. last week reported its third-quarter net profit rose 35 percent to 5.6 billion yuan.

    Air China net profit down 8.8%

    AIR China Ltd., the country’s flag carrier, reported yesterday an 8.8 percent fall in third-quarter profit as a slowing economy hurt business travel.

    The Beijing-based airline said net profit fell to 2.68 billion yuan (US$438.41 million) in the July-to-September period, from 2.94 billion yuan a year earlier. For the first nine months of the year, Air China’s net income came to 3.16 billion yuan, down 22.3 percent from a year earlier.

    Great Wall sees sales improving next year

    GREAT Wall Motor Co. sees sales improving next year when it plans to launch several new models but China’s biggest maker of sport utility vehicles (SUV) remains cautious about exports due to currency volatility and intensifying competition, president Wang Fengying said.

    Last week, Great Wall reported a 22 percent slump in third-quarter profit hit by a delay to the launch of its premium SUV model Haval H8 due to quality issues. Sales by volume fell 8.1 percent during the first nine months. “Sales next year should increase from this year due to new model launches,” Wang said, adding that planned products in 2015 include H8, H9 and H6 Cooper. She declined to give a specific launch date.

    Guangzhou Automobile profit down 46%

    GUANGZHOU Automobile Group Co. said yesterday its net profit fell 46 percent in the third quarter due to fewer car sales in its joint ventures with Honda Motor and Fiat Chrysler.

    The automaker said net profit for the quarter fell to 547 million yuan (US$90 million) from 1.02 billion yuan in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose 17 percent to 4.88 billion yuan.