(Yicai) Aug. 23 — Chinese bus maker Zhongtong Bus said its net profit more than doubled in the first half of the year thanks to a sharp rebound in domestic tourism and rising demand from abroad.

Net profit rose 115 percent year-on-year to CNY11 million (US$15.5 million) in the six months to June 30, the company said yesterday. Revenue rose 66 percent to CNY2.8 billion (US$392.2 million), driven by strong sales, particularly of buses over six meters in length.

The continued recovery of tourism in China, along with the recovery in demand for buses abroad, is the main driving force behind the higher sales of buses over six meters in length, the Shandong province-based company stressed.

Zhontang Bus forecast a further increase in sales in light of China’s recent policy initiative to promote the elimination of more environmentally harmful public transport buses with vehicles using alternative fuel technology and the recovery of the tourism sector.

According to data from 360buses.Cn, over 52,400 buses with a length of over six meters were sold in China in the first half of the year, up 33 percent year-on-year. Total sales of large and medium-sized buses in the Chinese market increased by 25 percent.

China’s exports of large and medium-sized buses rose 50 percent in the six months. This trend is expected to continue in the second half of the year, with the biggest opportunities in the European, Latin American and Southeast Asian markets.

Last year, 19,000 alternative-fuel buses were sold abroad, compared to 1,000 in 2017. According to figures from Guosheng Securities, this represents an average annual growth of about 63 percent. At the same time, their penetration rate rose from less than two percent to over ten percent.

Shares of Zhongtong Bus (SHE: 000957) closed 0.2 percent higher at CNY 9.49 (USD 1.33) in Shenzhen today. The stock has gained 5.7 percent since the end of last year.

Publisher: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione