Since March, sales of construction machinery represented by excavators continued to exceed market expectations. We believe that the annual sales volume of excavators will also exceed the expected rate. The market share of domestic brands is expected to continue to improve, and the effect of business transformation will gradually appear.
In 2018 1~5, the total sales volume of excavators reached 105 thousand and 900, an increase of 60.18% over the same period last year. We expect sales in June to exceed the expected rate, and the annual sales volume is expected to be higher than the 20% market forecast for the beginning of the year. We believe that in 2018, the net profit of construction machinery manufacturers is expected to increase substantially for three reasons. First, the industry sales volume stable growth, product price overall smooth; second, the cost pressure is reduced, the firm's gross interest rate tends to be stable; third, the cost control is proper, the firm net interest rate is expected to improve; fourth, the asset impairment is expected to reduce substantially, 2017 manufacturers actively deal with the history of bad debts, 2018 light up. Meanwhile, domestic manufacturers are more strict in controlling credit sales, which is conducive to sustained and healthy development of the industry.
Combined with the growth of the construction machinery market and the industrial research situation in the first five months of this year, we expect the performance of the construction machinery plate in the newspaper or the continuous bright eye, laying the foundation for the high growth of the annual profit. Judging from the historical valuation of domestic and foreign engineering machinery, we believe that the industry still has structural investment opportunities this year. It is recommended to pay attention to the domestic excavator brand and crane leading enterprise with higher market share.
