China's Haitong Sec says 2007 net surges, Q1 slows

SHANGHAI, April 10 (Reuters) - Chinese brokerage Haitong Securities Co Ltd (600837.SS) said on Thursday its 2007 net profit rose 11-fold, boosted by last year's booming stock market, but first-quarter growth slowed as the market slumped.

The company's net profit jumped to 5.5 billion yuan ($785.6 million) in 2007 while operating revenue more than tripled to 11.3 billion yuan, Haitong said in a statement filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Haitong secured a stock listing last year by merging with Shanghai Urban Agro-Business Co.

Year-on-year earnings growth slowed in the first quarter to 26 percent, however, with net profit for the January-March period at 898 million yuan, Haitong said in a separate statement.

It said commission income in the first quarter rose more than 50 percent from a year earlier, but the value of its financial assets decreased 46 percent from the end of 2007 to 1.86 billion yuan.

China's key stock index .SSEC, which nearly tripled in 2007, fell more than 30 percent in the first quarter, stirring concerns over profit growth at the country's securities brokerages.

Haitong's shares have fallen about 40 percent since the start of the year.

In morning trade on Thursday, Haitong was up 2.5 percent at 33.4 yuan, outperforming a 0.8 percent drop in the benchmark index. ($1=7.001 Yuan) (Reporting by Alfred Cang; Editing by Edmund Klamann)