Dongfang Elec still unable to assess quake damage

SHANGHAI, May 21 (Reuters) - Dongfang Electric Corp Ltd (1072.HK) (600875.SS), China's top power generator maker, said it was still unable to assess damage to its steam turbine business from last week's devastating earthquake, which killed 97 employees.

"At the present time, with rescue operations still under way and continuous aftershocks, it is impossible to enter the site and assess the damage to assets," it said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange late on Tuesday.

The firm also said its steam turbine unit had signed a 1.24 billion yuan ($178 million) contract with the state-owned China Energy Conservation Investment Corp for 134 wind turbines, its first contract since the earthquake. The wind turbine operation has resumed full production.

Dongfang said last week that the steam turbine business, which accounted for 20 percent of its operating revenue in 2007, suffered casualties and serious damage to production at the steam turbine operation in Mianzhu city, which was hit hard by the 7.9 magnitude earthquake that struck southwest China's Sichuan province. More than 70,000 are dead or missing from the disaster.

Last Friday, the firm's Hong Kong-listed shares dove as much as 20 percent to their lowest level in more than a year.

The company said the quake had little impact on its other operations, while production and operations at its headquarters had been fully restored.

Analysts said it may take more than a year for the steam turbine business to fully recover and the potential earnings impact could be up to one-fifth. ($1=6.972 Yuan) (Reporting by Joseph Chaney; Editing by Edmund Klamann)