Dec. 16, 2011 (China Knowledge) - Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes Co Ltd<000778>, which manufactures centrifugal ductile cast-iron pipes, plans to invest RMB 9 billion to expand its output capacity in India, sources reported.

The Shenzhen-listed firm said it expects to enlarge its existing iron ore pellet plant, located in Karnataka, South India, but did not disclose the net addition of its proposed capacity.

A person familiar with the matter said the existing plant had an annual output capacity of 800,000 tons at the end of September 2011.

Reports said that the company also intends to build iron ore pellet plant in Middle East with a designed output capacity of 300,000 tons per year, bringing the firm's total capacity to 3 million tons in the next three years.

The cast-iron pipe supplier has not yet commented on the reports.

Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes reaped RMB 349.69 million in net profit in the third quarter of this year, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 5.03%, bringing its net profit for the first three quarters to RMB 1.16 billion.

In the nine months ending September 30, 2011, the company's operating revenue surged 30.86% from a year earlier to RMB 39.41 billion.