Uni-President China first-half profit up 33pc to 1.29 billion yuan

Uni-President China (0220) posted a 33.3 percent rise in first-half net profit to 1.29 billion yuan (HK$1.41 billion), due to higher revenue and gross profit, as well as a decrease in selling expense ratio.

Revenue for the food and beverage production giant increased by 10.6 percent to 17.1 billion yuan, of which, sales from the food business amounted to 5.4 billion yuan, up by 8.8 percent. 

Revenue from the beverages business, which accounted for more than 60 percent of the total figure, grew by 7.6 percent to 10.8 billion yuan. 

Gross profit for the period increased by 12.2 percent to 5.23 billion yuan. The gross profit margin also inched up 0.5 percentage points to 34.3 percent, mainly due to the increase in sales, which led to the improvement of productivity and the decrease in the cost of certain raw materials.