Summary by Futu AI
South Manganese Investment Co., Ltd. ('Southern Manganese') issued a profit warning, forecasting a loss of no more than HKD 200 million for the six months ending June 30, 2024. This is compared to a profit of approximately HKD 135 million for the same period in 2023. The loss is mainly due to the increase in impairment losses on financial assets resulting from the enterprise guarantees for the bank financing of the joint venture company, Duxian Jinmeng Manganese Industry Co., Ltd., and the gross loss of the trading business caused by the drop in manganese ore prices. The company emphasizes that this is a preliminary assessment and will announce detailed mid-term performance on August 16, 2024.