(Yicai Global) April 19 -- Wuliangye Yibin, a major Chinese alcoholic drinks maker, has reportedly established a new company to invest in the new energy field.

Wuliangye New Energy was set up yesterday with a registered capital of CNY1 billion (USD145 million), The Paper reported today, citing business information.

China’s output of baijiu, a strong liquor distilled from fermented sorghum, has been falling for years, intensifying competition in the industry, Sichuan province-based Wuliangye told institutional investors, according to the report.

Wuliangye is exploring investments in the new energy field, mainly photovoltaics and energy storage, staff from its investor relations department reportedly said, without disclosing further details. 

Wuliangye’s revenue rose 12.2 percent to about CNY55.8 billion (USD8.1 billion) in the nine months ended Sept. 30 from a year earlier, according to its third-quarter earnings report. Net profit jumped 15.4 percent to nearly CNY20 billion.

Shares of Wuliangye [SHE: 000858] ended 1.1 percent lower at CNY176.29 (USD25.58) today, slimming its market capitalization to CNY682.3 billion (USD100 billion). The broader Shenzhen market slipped 0.8 percent.

Editor: Martin Kadiev