China Railway group 2011 net profit falls 9.555

China Railway Group Ltd., one of China's leading heavy infrastructure companies, said Friday its net profit in 2011 fell 9.55 percent year-on-year to 6.69 billion yuan (about 1.1 billion U.S. dollars). The Beijing-based company attributed its poor performance to the sluggish infrastructure building market in China, according to China Railway's annual report filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The company's business revenues dipped 2.75 percent year-on-year to 460.72 billion yuan, while its earnings per share stood at 0.31 yuan, down 11.43 percent from a year earlier. Last year, China Railway signed new contracts worth 570.8 billion yuan, down 22.4 percent from the year before. The company's accounts receivables rose 18.26 percent year-on-year to 96.34 billion yuan as owners of some projects ran short of funds and payment were delayed, according to the report. The Chinese government decided to slow the development of high-speed rail and put speed limits on the existing express ways after a fatal high-speed train crash left 40 people dead in the eastern city of Wenzhou in July last year.