Sinofert, the mainland’s largest fertiliser producer and distributor, expects to post a 55 per cent to 65 per cent year-on-year drop in net profit for the year’s first six months.
The expected decrease “is mainly attributable to the impact of the overall operating market environment of the fertiliser industry, which caused a corresponding decline in the operating results of the group,” the Hong Kong-listed firm said in a statement to the stock exchange.
Sinofert had a net profit of 352 million yuan (HK$442 million) in last year’s first-half. It posted a net loss of 476 million yuan for the whole of last year. Urea, or nitrogenous fertiliser, the mainstay product of the company, saw its market price in Chongqing fall to around 1,500 yuan a tonne at the end of June from about 1,800 yuan at the start of the year, according to agricultural news portal www.xnynews.com.