Qiao Xing shares jump after annual report

QXUT, parent of the CECT cell-phone brand, said sales were 3.87 billion yuan ($531 million) in 2007, up 20 percent from the year before.

Net income was 903.9 million yuan ($123.9 million), compared with a net loss of 19.8 yuan million for 2006. Earnings were $3.38 per share in 2007.

Shares of QXUT rose $1.10, or 28.8 percent, to $5.05 in afternoon trading. The shares have traded between $3.76 and $14.67 in the past year.

Shares of subsidiary Qiao Xing Mobile Communication Co. rose 75 cents, or 16.5 percent, to $5.30.

The company did not break out fourth-quarter figures in its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In late June, the Huizhou-based parent company asked for an extension of the deadline for filing its annual report, saying that the U.S. initial public offering of Qiao Xing Mobile Communication in May 2007 meant that it needed extra time to file.

Looking ahead, QXUT expects its average selling prices to recover from a dip earlier this year, when it introduced lower-end models.

The CECT subsidiary sold 3.8 million phones last year, up 69 percent from a year ago, the company reported.

Another subsidiary, Qiao Xing Communication Industry, or QXCI, sold more than 1 million cell and cordless phones, mostly in the lower end of the market. It plans to expand into overseas distribution this year, and add unique phones, including a model fitted with binoculars.