Guangshen Railway Announces 2010 Annual Results

HONG KONG, March 24, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Guangshen Railway Company Limited ("Guangshen Railway" or the "Company") (HKEx Share Code: 525; SSE Share Code: 601333; American Depositary Shares ("ADS") Ticker Symbol:NYSE: GSH) today announced the audited operating results for the year ended December 31, 2010 (the "Year") of the Company and its subsidiaries (the "Group").

In 2010, under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), operating revenues of the Company amounted to RMB13,484 million, representing an increase of 8.87% over the previous year. Profit attributable to equity holders amounted to RMB1,486 million, an increase of 10.70% year-on-year. Basic earnings per share amounted to RMB0.21 (2009: RMB0.19). The board of directors of the Company recommended the payment of a final cash dividend of RMB0.09 per share for 2010 (2009: RMB0.08 per share), accounting for 42.86% of the basic earnings per share of the Year.

Mr. Xu Xiaoming, Chairman of the Company said, "In 2010, with the global economy continuing to improve, the PRC's macro-economy recovered significantly. Benefiting from the gradual release of freight transportation capacity on the Wuhan-to-Guangzhou section of the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, and the success of the Shanghai World Expo and the Asian Games in Guangzhou, the demand of passenger and freight delivery in the Company's main operating area increased steadily. Faced with an advantageous operating environment, the Company continuously strengthened its marketing strategies, timely adjusted its transportation structure, rationally improved transportation resources and stringently controlled costs and expenses. The Company achieved safety and stability in its transportation operation with steady increases in transportation revenue and profitability."

During the Year, passenger delivery volume of the Company was 84,922,600. Revenue from passenger transportation rose 12.62% year-on-year to RMB8,104 million. Of such amount, the passenger delivery volumes of Guangzhou-Shenzhen trains, long-distance trains and Hong Kong Through Trains amounted to 33,947,800, 44,881,200 and 3,093,600 respectively, representing an increase of 10.31%, a decrease of 1.46% and an increase of 10.53% year-on-year respectively. The three operations realised revenues of RMB2,361 million, RMB5,329 million and RMB414 million respectively, representing year-on-year increases of 15.37%, 11.71% and 9.32% respectively.

Both passenger delivery volume and revenue of Guangzhou-Shenzhen trains increased, mainly because the volume of business and leisure travels between the mainland region and the Pearl River Delta region has increased thanks to a recovery of the Guangdong/Hong Kong/Macau's regional economy. Added on top is the fact that the Guangzhou-Shenzhen inter-city express trains continued to implement the stop-at-all-stations operating model, thereby boosting passenger volume. In addition, since June 18, 2010, the cost of a one-way ticket of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen inter-city trains was raised to RMB5, leading to an increase in transportation income; and since July 1, 2010, the number of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen inter-city trains increased to 110 pairs, leading to an increase in the overall capacity.

In respect of long-distance trains, after the launching of the Wuhan-to-Guangzhou high-speed railway, in order to optimize railway transportation resources, the Company cancelled part of the long-distance trains which used to run between Wuhan and Guangzhou, resulting in a slight year-on-year decrease in passenger delivery volume of long-distance trains in 2010. The revenue from long-distance trains recorded an increase mainly because the Company increased pairs of long-distance trains and the occupancy rate of long-distance trains operated by the Company increased, thereby leading to an increase in passenger volume of the trains operated by the Company.

In respect of Hong Kong Through Trains, the increases in passenger delivery volume and revenue of Hong Kong Through Trains were mainly due to an increase in business and travel passenger volume between the mainland and Macau and Hong Kong, as well as the holding of the Shanghai World Expo and the Asian Games in Guangzhou, thereby boosting the traveler volume between Hong Kong, Macau and Shanghai and Guangzhou.

During the Year, tonnage of freight transported by the Company amounted to 67,931,700 tonnes (2009: 61,987,100 tonnes). Revenues from freight transportation reached RMB1,361 million (2009: RMB1,210 million). The Company's revenues from freight transportation and freight volume increased mainly because the railway freight transportation business rebound steadily, and the Company pro-actively strengthened the marketing and the load/unload arrangement of the freight operation, thereby significantly increasing the tonnage of freight especially outbound freight. In addition, the nationwide basic freight transportation tariff was raised RMB0.7 cent per tonne kilometer, which also contributed to the increase in the revenue of freight transportation.

Looking forward toward the Company's development in 2011, Mr. Xu said, "2011 is a critical year for railway enterprises to achieve the modern construction stage by 2012, and is also a critical moment for China's macro-economic policies and railway operations to strive for a stable change of operational mode. However, the Group is still facing a challenging and changing operating environment. The Company will earnestly intensify its safety foundation, actively coordinate transportation organization and vigorously regulate operation management, so as to ensure the achievement of its annual operating goals and create greater operating results."

Guangshen Railway Company Limited was established in 1996. The H shares and ADS issued by the Company were listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and the New York Stock Exchange respectively in May 1996. The Company is currently the only PRC railway enterprise with its shares listed overseas. In December 2006, the Company returned to the A share market and successfully listed its shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The Company holds the sole operating rights of the Guangshen Railway, one of the most modern railways in the PRC. The Company is mainly engaged in railway passenger and freight transportation businesses between Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Pingshi, long-distance passenger transportation services, and the Hong Kong Through Train passenger service in cooperation with MTR Corporation in Hong Kong. As at December 31, 2010, the Company operated 224 pairs of passenger trains in accordance with its daily train schedules, including 110 pairs of Guangzhou-Shenzhen trains, 101 pairs of long-distance trains, and 13 pairs of Hong Kong through-trains.

Enclosed: Condensed Consolidated Income Statement for 2010 (audited): http://www.prnasia.com/sa/attachment/2011/03/2011032448406.pdf

SOURCE Guangshen Railway Company Limited