Beijing: The Aluminum Corporation of China Limited (Chalco), one of biggest companies in the country, reported a loss of 3. 25 billion yuan (over USD 513 million) for the first six months of the year.
The figure is in sharp contrast to the 413 million yuan profits during the same period last year, the company said in a report filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
The losses were incurred by falling market prices, rising costs of raw materials, and higher financial expenses caused by interest rate hikes, said Chalco, a listed arm of the Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco), the country's top producer of aluminum.
Its financial expenses surged 51. 4 percent year on year to 2.3 billion yuan in the first six months, official Xinhua news agency reported.
Meanwhile, Chalco's revenues went up 8.7 percent from a year earlier to reach 71.7 billion yuan in the first six months of the year.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, August 25, 2012, 14:51