Anhui Conch issues positive profit alert, China

Yesterday, Anhui Conch said it expects first-half net profit up about 90 per cent YoY compared to CNY3.06bn (US$492.75m) a year earlier. The advance is being attributed to increased product sales and prices.

Dow Jones cited a report by Barclays which says higher sales and lower coal prices are responsible. "We expect the share price to react positively" Thursday but the stock may "then fall back on ongoing seasonal weakness in cement prices," Barclays says. This may persist throughout the third quarter "given recent muted cement demand we have seen", Barclays says.