(Yicai) Aug. 28 -- Shares of Guangtai Airport Equipment rose after the leading Chinese manufacturer of airport equipment said it received a USD17 million order from an Indian ground handling and aviation support company under Adani Group.

Guangtai [SHE: 002111] closed up 3.6 percent at CNY9.75 (USD1.45) in Shenzhen today, after gaining as much as 5.6 percent in morning trading.

Guangtai will supply AGHPort Aviation Services with various airport equipment, including baggage tractors and aircraft tugs, power units, and container loading and unloading platforms, in three batches within the next nine to 10 months, the Weihai-based firm announced yesterday.

Last year, AGHPort Aviation Services was acquired by Adani Airport Holdings, the wholly-owned aviation business subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Adani.

This order, which is the largest airport equipment sales contract Guangtai has signed in Asia, is expected to positively impact the company’s operating performance and facilitate its further expansion into the domestic and international airport equipment market, Guangtai noted.

Guangtai’s revenue rose 19 percent to CNY1.7 billion (USD250 million) in the first half of the year from a year earlier, buoyed by a strong performance by its domestic and overseas airport equipment businesses, according to its interim financial statement released on Aug. 26. Net profit expanded 91 percent to CNY159 million (USD23.7 million).

Editor: Futura Costaglione