Apr. 23, 2008 (China Knowledge) - Ningbo Bird Co.<600130>, the second-biggest mobile-phone maker in China, posted the company's second annual net loss in three years, it said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Monday.

The net loss was RMB 593.6 million (US$84.8 million), or RMB 0.77 per share, compared with a restated net income of RMB 33.6 million a year ago. Sales reduced 33.1% to RMB 4.57 billion compared with RMB 6.83 billion a year earlier, according to the company's statement.

Its shares dipped 2.3% on Monday to RMB 3.76 on the Shanghai Stock Exchange before the earnings release. The stock has dropped 34.3% this year, compared with a 38.8% decline in China's benchmark CSI 300 Index.

China had a record 86.2 million newly added users after China Mobile Ltd<941><CHL> and China Unicom Ltd<600050><762><CHU> cut calling rates last year. Meanwhile, foreign phone makers Nokia and Samsung introduced more models priced at RMB 400 or less to attract consumers in small towns and rural areas.

Under fierce market competition, the Zhejiang Province-based company saw its home market share dropped dramatically as it was forced to introduce lower-priced models.