South China Morning Post
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Opinion
Stock Talk
by Jeanny Yu
Stock Talk
by Jeanny Yu

Market opener: BYD in focus as 1H earnings tumbles 94%

Jeanny Yu
Jeanny Yu
Why you can trust SCMP
BYD (1211.HK), the Chinese electronic car maker backed by billionaire Warren Buffett, could face mounting selling pressure in the upcoming trading after it reported a sharp fall in net first half profit.

The company, in which Buffett's MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. holds 10 per cent stake, said late on Monday that net profit dived 94 per cent to 16.3 million yuan from a year earlier, blaming intensifying industry competition.

It said falling sales meant profit would continue to fall in the third quarter. BYD's share price has lost 21 per cent year-to-date and closed at HK$13.36 on Monday. Investors have cut holdings of the stock after questions about quality were raised after a car crash in Shenzhen in May.

Meanwhile, some profit-taking could be seen in NVC Lighting (2222.HK), after it denied earlier media reports that internal conflicts have been resolved and its former chairman, Wu Changjiang, would return to the board.

No agreement has been reached between Wu and its current chairman, NVC said last night. The stock has more than doubled since it resumed trading on August 15, closing at HK$1.52 on Monday. NVC is due to report interim results later in the day. 

Other stocks that may be volatile include China Southern Airlines (1055.HK), which reported that first-half profit fell 85 per cent to 424 million yuan, blaming high fuel costs and foreign-exchange losses.
-- China Huiyuan Juice (1886.HK) sank into the red in the first half, recording 32 million yuan in losses compared to a profit of 149 million in the year earlier period, it said on Monday night.
-- China's top city piped gas supplier ENN Energy (2688.HK) said overnight that first-half profit rose to 730 million yuan, up 16 per cent from a year earlier.
Investors are also likely to keep a close eye on earnings results from China Life (2628.HK), cement maker BBMG (2009.HK) and Air China (0753.HK), due later in the day. 

Overnight, The Standard & Poor's 500 Index edged down 0.1 per cent, to 1410.44. German's DAX gained 1.1 per cent to close at 7,047 on speculation that Europe would push ahead with further easing measures to revive the euro zone economy.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 0.41 per cent to 19,798.67 on Monday after the mainland market tumbled to a 41-month low.
 

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