Alcohol producer China New Borun Corp. (BORN) said Tuesday it has signed presales contracts worth about 90% of its total output capacity this year.

Shares in the company were up 13% at $3.79 after hours. Through the close, the stock has dropped 72% in the last year, much worse than the market at large.

China New Borun makes and sells corn-based edible alcohol primarily to producers of baijiu, a Chinese distilled alcoholic beverage.

Its revenue and profit have risen in recent quarter results, although bottom-line growth was kept in check in the previous period as the cost of corn rose sharply.

On Tuesday, Chairman and Chief Executive Jinmiao Wang said the company was pleased to win "such a strong volume of preorders this early in the new year." he said the orders were driven by strong market demand for its edible alcohol and the acquisition of new customers. He said demand is strong for the company's by-products as well.

In particular, he noted that the company has made significant progress in expanding its customer base into other provinces outside its core of Shandong and Heilongjiang. The former province juts into the Yellow Sea across from the Koreas, roughly midway between the cities of Shanghai and Beijing, while the latter is China's northeastern-most province on the border of Russia.

Source:chinabevnews.com