Jul. 31, 2009 (China Knowledge) - Henan Shenhuo Coal & Power Co Ltd<000933>, principally engaged in the manufacture, processing and sale of coal and aluminum products, on Thursday announced that its net profit in the first half of this year tumbled 68.62% year-on-year to RMB 216 million, with earnings per share standing at RMB 0.288.

The firm said in a statement filed with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange that the revenue in H1 2009 was about RMB 4.12 billion, representing a 28.69% decrease from a year earlier.

In H1 2009, Shenhuo Coal & Power output 2.86 million tons of coal and related products, which accounted for 50.19% of the firm's annual plan. However, the firm only achieved 46.48% of its planned annual coal sales. Shenhuo Coal & Power produced 127,200 tons of aluminum products in H1 and sold 145,300 tons of aluminum products during the period.

The gross margin of both coal products and aluminum products sharply declined in the first half, and the gross margin for aluminum products even decreased 24.45% from a year earlier to -7.96%.

Shenhuo Coal & Power attributed the net profit decrease to the capacity oversupply in aluminum industry amid the current macroeconomic situation. Meanwhile, the substantial decrease in prices of aluminum products in H1 2009 compared with the corresponding time of last year also attributed to the decline.