(Yicai) Oct. 30 -- Seres Group has denied a rumor that the carmaking partner of Huawei Technologies carried out a controversial plan that would have seen staff aged over 50 or with more than 20 years of service face a re-selection process aimed at ensuring a younger workforce.

The so-called 520 Plan was discussed at a company meeting, but no specific plan was formed or implemented, the Chongqing-based automaker said on Weibo yesterday.

The rumor about the proposal began circulating online last month after an internal company document was leaked online.

Seres also denied a subsequent rumor that it had demoted by three ranks the staffer allegedly responsible for the leak. The company will continue defending its reputation from misinformation, it added.

Seres [SHA: 601127] ended little changed today at CNY109.46 (USD15.37) a share in Shanghai. The stock is up 44 percent since the end of last year.

For the first three quarters of the year, Seres expects to have swung back to the black, with a net profit of CNY3.5 billion to CNY4.1 billion (USD490.4 million to USD574.5 million). Revenue likely surged more than six-fold to between CNY103 billion and CNY110 billion (USD14.4 billion and USD15.4 billion) from a year ago. Sales surged 364 percent to 316,700 vehicles in the period.

Seres has unveiled a number of investments this year, including buying Aito's trademarks and patents from Huawei, signing a new agreement with Huawei, and funding a capital increase for its unit Seres Automotive. Moreover, the firm plans to spend CNY15 billion (USD2.1 billion) for investment management purposes.

Editor: Futura Costaglione