February 27, 2014

China's meat processor Henan Shuanghui 2013 net profit up 34%                    

China's largest meat processor Henan Shuanghui Investment & Development Co Ltd said its 2013 net profit rose 33.7%, according to a Reuters report.

Annual net profit rose to RMB3.86 billion (US$633.68 million) due to lower input costs which boosted margins, the company said in a statement to the Shenzhen stock exchange on Monday. The increase bodes well for an initial public offering by its parent WH Group Ltd which is expected to be the biggest Hong Kong listing since 2010.

China is the world's biggest pork consumer and estimated per capita spending on meat, poultry and processed products more than doubled to RMB1,184 (US$190) in 2012 from six years ago as the number of affluent Chinese also increased.

Parent WH Group, formerly known as Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd, last year acquired US pork producer Smithfield Foods Inc last year, which had sales of US$13.2 billion in the fiscal year ended April 2013.