Fosun's First-Half Profit More Than Doubles on Steel, Mining

By Chia-Peck Wong

Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Fosun International Ltd., a Shanghai- based investment company, said first-half profit more than doubled on higher income from its steel, mining and pharmaceuticals holdings.

Net income rose to 1.92 billion yuan ($281 million), or 0.30 yuan a share, from 826.6 million yuan, or 0.17 yuan, a year earlier, Fosun said in a Hong Kong's stock exchange filing today. Revenue rose to 20.8 billion yuan from 14.3 billion yuan.

Net income from Fosun's mining business more than quadrupled to 880.9 million yuan and profit from pharmaceuticals more than tripled to 196.1 million yuan, the company said. Steel profit rose to 1.09 billion yuan from 609.3 million yuan.

Fosun's retail and financial services business posted a loss of 264.9 million yuan, widening from 63.3 billion yuan, it said.

Shares of the company, listed in Hong Kong, have fallen 41 percent this year, compared with a 27 percent decline in the benchmark Hang Seng Index. Fosun fell 2.7 percent to HK$4.31 on Aug. 21. The market was closed Aug. 22 because of a typhoon.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chia-Peck Wong in Hong Kong at cpwong@bloomberg.net