Asian stock markets advanced yesterday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average stabilized overnight. The Shanghai Composite Index surged 4.5 percent while locally, the Hang Seng Index gained 1.9 percent.
IPO: Sundart Internaional (2288 HK), an interior decorating contractor, lists on the mainboard today, with its grey market price leaping 11 per cent to HK$4.80 the highest. Investors earn HK$460 per board lot of shares excluding handling fees.
Telecom: China Mobile (941 HK), the country’s biggest mobile operator, recorded a net profit of 55.3 million yuan for the first half, edging up 1.4 per cent, from a year earlier. Earnings per share were 2.76 yuan. An interim dividend of HK$1.346 was declared. The company forecasts that its income would continue to grow as it expands its business to rural areas in China. PCCW (8 HK) reported a net profit of HK$654 million for the first half, sliding 0.3 per cent compared with a year ago. Earnings per share were 96 HK cents. The company proposes no interim dividend. The telecom operator said no interim dividend was distributed because it hoped to reserve more capital for its further development, and a special dividend of HK$1.30 per share was declared several months ago.
Shipping: China Shipping Development (1138 HK), the nation’s largest coastal energy shipper, said first-half operating income plummeted 80 per cent from a year ago on weaker contributions from both coal and oil shipping. The company is seeking long-term contracts in order to lift profit and has set up a joint venture with PetroChina (857 HK) on liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriage. Guangzhou Shipyard (317 HK) recorded a 55 per cent net loss for the year ended June 30 to 242 million yuan due to rise in raw materials costs in ship manufacturing industry. No interim dividend was declared.
Properties: Guangzhou R&F (2777 HK) yesterday reported a 90 per cent dive in first-half net profit to 160 million yuan, dragged down by the loss arising from the sale of a land lot in Foshan. Earnings per share were 4.97 fen. No interim dividend was declared. Pacific Century Premium Developments (432 HK) said first-half net profit surged 30.8 times year-on-year to HK$159 million, boosted by the sales of Residence Bel-Air. Earnings per share were 66.3 HK cents. No interim dividend was declared. Meanwhile, Pacific Century has agreed to sell a residential site in Beijing to Shui On Construction and Material (0983) for US$118 million.
Financial: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (1398 HK), the world’s largest bank by market value, recorded a net profit of 66.4 billion yuan for the first half, rising 2.9 per cent from a year earlier. The company attributed the net profit to the brisk increase in lending and fee-based revenue. Earnings per share were 0.2 yuan. No interim dividend was declared.
Auto: Qingling Motors Company recorded a net profit of 103.36 million yuan for the first half, up 11.5 per cent compared with a year ago. Earnings per share were 4.16 fen. No interim dividend was declared.
Regal Real Estate Investment Trust (1881 HK), which operates five Regal-branded hotels in Hong Kong, said distributable income for the first half was HK$280 million, up 13 per cent from a year ago. Earnings per unit attributable to unitholders were 5.9 HK cents. An interim distribution of 8.5 HK cents per unit was declared.
Sinolink Worldwide (1168 HK) expected to record a growth in first-half net profit on a boom of sales of properties. The estimated net profit would be no less than 5 times of that posted a year ago, the company said.
Solargiga Energy (757 HK) recorded an interim net loss of approximately 119.75 million yuan compared with a profit of 183.28 million yuan a year ago. No interim dividend was declared.
Consumer: Stella International (1836 HK) recorded a 14.6 per cent decline in the first-half net profit to US$47.50 million. The decline was mainly due to a drop in sales, especially in the European market.
Sources: Sing Tao Finance, Hong Kong Economic Journal, Hong Kong Economic Times, The Standard
