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Salt Lake Potash Co net profit up 55% in H1 

By Hao Yan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-07-28 17:54

Qinghai Salt Lake Potash Co has exceeded mid-term output objectives, after announcing a net profit of 788.38 million yuan ($115.41 million), an increase of 54.57 percent over the same period last year.

The potash fertilizer producer posted an earning per share of 1.0271 yuan in the first half, up 54.57 percent and its return on equity ratio reached 30.82 percent, which is 5.19 percentage points higher from the same period last year, as published in its interim report on July 25.

Its strong growth has been attributed to improved product qualities, cost-cutting measures and increased efficiency to boost capacity, the company said.

The company is in good status and the whole company, including its subsidiaries, has achieved or exceeded output objectives and managed to maintain almost the same sales volume as last year, according to the report.

The report also revealed while prices of potassium chloride products fluctuated violently due to falling needs, the company made price adjustments accordingly. But they failed to accomplish half of their sales quota halfway through the year.

Stock trading has been suspended since June 25 as the company launches a new plan of acquisition by exchanging newly issued stocks with Qinghai Yanhu Industrial Group Co and writing off its Salt Lake Potash stock holdings.

Salt Lake Potash was up 9.99 percent to close at 60.5 yuan yesterday when trading resumed.

The company fears a short-term diluted profit due to the acquisition plan but it will benefit from it in the longer term, according to an analyst of CITIC Securities, which sets its target price at 78 yuan.