Earnings fall 1.76pc to 2.07b yuan despite metal's rising prices
Jiangxi Copper, the biggest mainland producer of the industrial metal, suffered a drop in first-half earnings as rising costs reduced the benefit of surging commodity prices.
Growing demand from the mainland, the world's biggest consumer of copper, helped push prices to a record high this year.
That has added pressure to Jiangxi Copper's bottom line as the company needs to buy more than 60 per cent of its copper concentrate from other mining firms such as BHP Billiton to feed the mainland's surging economy.
Net earnings at the Guixi, Jiangxi-based company declined 1.76 per cent to 2.07 billion yuan. Sales rose 82 per cent to 17.29 billion yuan.
No interim dividend was declared.