Asian Citrus (00073) interim loss narrows to Rmb236m; no div

    Asian Citrus (00073) said its loss attributable to shareholders for the six months ended 31 December 2014 narrowed to Rmb236 million from Rmb548 million for the same period in 2013.
  Its basic and diluted loss per share was Rmb0.189.
  The turnover was Rmb584 million, a decrease of 21.9% from a year earlier. The overall gross loss margin increased to 22.7% for the six months ended 31 December 2014, compared to the gross profit margin of 13.2% for the last corresponding period.
  Adjusted core loss attributable to shareholders during the period, before the change in fair value of biological assets and share based payments, was Rmb193 million, representing a decrease of 570.7% as compared to adjusted core profit attributable to shareholders of Rmb41 million for the last corresponding period. This primarily reflected the reduction in production volume and average selling price of winter oranges, as well as higher direct costs, such as fertilisers and pesticides, as we sought to mitigate the impact of adverse weather conditions both on crops and on the leaching of nutrients from the soil.
  No interim dividend will be distributed.