Citic Securities' profit growth slows to 13%
21 July 2008
Citic Securities, China's largest brokerage, reported a net profit of US$699 million for the first half of 2008, up 13% from the US$617 million it posted a year ago, the South China Morning Post reported. Profit growth was sharply down from the year-on-year 442% increase Citic saw in its 2007 interim earnings, as the downturn in mainland A-share markets affected income from trading fees, which account for a large portion of the firm's revenue. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index has fallen 47.2% so far this year, and Citic Securities' share price has dropped 74.1%, closing at RMB23.12 (US$3.39) on Friday. Analysts believe earnings will continue to slow in the second half of the year due to the high base last year.