CITS 2013 profits up 28.73% in China

The net profits of China International Travel Service (CITS) totaled 1.29 billion yuan (210.19 million U.S. dollars) in 2013, up 28.73 percent year on year. The company's revenue increased 8.15 percent from the previous year to 17.45 billion yuan last year, over 60 percent of which was earned from the travel sector and the rest from souvenir sales, according to the company's annual report filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) on Saturday. In breakdown, the company's revenue from outbound travel increased 17.8 percent year on year. Revenues from inbound tourism by foreign travelers and from domestic tours dropped 37.28 percent and 8.75 percent, respectively. CITS said the sharp decline of inbound tours was affected by the slow economic recovery in the U.S. and European countries and the appreciation of China's currency, the yuan. By the end of 2013, the company's assets totaled 12.96 billion yuan, up 45.14 percent year on year. Its shares on the SSE increased 0.58 percent to 34.97 yuan per share on Friday.