China's CITIC Securities posts 6.5% fall in first-half profit

CITIC Securities Co , China's biggest brokerage, reported a 6.51 per cent fall in first-half profit on Wednesday, dragged down by shrinking revenue from asset management and securities underwriting.

Net profit for the six months to June 30 hit 10.57 billion yuan ($1.48 billion), down from 11.31 billion yuan in the same period last year, the company said in a stock exchange filing.

Chinese equities have been underperforming compared with regional markets this year, with investor attention focused on lagging growth in the world's second-largest economy amid deflationary pressures, a protracted property slump and anaemic consumption.

Sluggish listing and dealmaking activity weighed on large Chinese securities firms that have reduced salaries and cut jobs to reduce costs.

"The domestic economy is still facing many challenges in its recovery, mainly because effective demand is still insufficient," the company said in the filing.

Revenue from CITIC's brokerage business fell by 2.85 per cent to 7.7 billion yuan and revenue from its asset management arm dropped by 8.26 per cent to 4.92 billion yuan.

Revenue from securities underwriting slumped by 54.6 per cent to 1.72 billion yuan, it said, while revenue from stock investments rose 31.3 per cent to 13.4 billion yuan.

CITIC shares in Hong Kong closed 0.18 per cent up at HK$11.18 before the results announcement. The broader stock market was down a little more than 1 per cent.