Nongfu Spring, mainland China’ biggest producer of bottled water, reported a sharp slowdown in profit rise in the first half amid a brutal price war and uncertain economic outlook.
The company, based in Hangzhou, capital of eastern Zhejiang province, made a profit of 6.24 billion yuan (US$876 million) in the January to June period, an increase of 8 per cent from the same period a year ago.
While it narrowly beat analysts’ consensus forecast of 6.17 billion yuan in a Bloomberg survey, the profit increase was less than a third of the 25.3 per cent growth recorded in the first half of 2023.
Revenue climbed 8.4 per cent to 22.2 billion yuan,…
