September 2, 2010

Beijing Sanyuan posts loss in H1

As a result of higher expenditures in consolidation costs, dairy producer Beijing Sanyuan Foods Co. booked a first-half loss of RMB51.6 million (US$7.6 million) from a RMB31.7 million (US$4.7 million) profit a year earlier.

Higher raw material costs and advertising expenditures also weighed on its earnings, the company said in its interim report to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

First-half operating revenue rose 13.6% to RMB1.3 billion (US$190 million), helped by higher sales of high-end products.

Hebei Sanyuan was established in December 2008 to take over the assets of collapsed dairy company Sanlu Group, which was at the centre of the 2008 milk contamination scandal.

The unit posted a first-half loss of RMB66.3 million (US$9.7 million) on operating revenue of RMB290 million (US$42.6 million), the interim report said.