Beijing Sanyuan to post loss in 2009

Dairy producer Beijing Sanyuan Food Co. said on January 29 that it expects to have booked a major loss in 2009 due to a sharp rise in marketing expenditure.

In its statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the company did not provide a detailed estimate of the expected loss.

Sanyuan enhanced marketing last year as it was consolidating its purchased assets of Sanlu Group, the collapsed producer at the centre of a scandal involving melamine adulteration of milk in late 2008, the statement said.

Sanyuan booked a net profit of RMB40.76 million (US$5.97 million) in 2008, with earnings per share at RMB0.06.