Shares of Hengan Declined 6.1% Due to its Results 

Shares of Hengan International Group Co Ltd dropped 6.1% to HK$36. The company’s shares fell to the lowest point since July 2009. 

Its 2021 net profit declined 29%, as both sales and profitability took a hit from China’s consumption slowdown, rising raw-material costs, and intensifying competition. 

The company posted a net profit of 3.27 billion yuan ($514.5 million) compared with CNY4.59 billion in 2020.  

The Chinese tissue paper company said the revenue fell to CNY20.79 billion, as consumer sentiment turned cautious amid an economic slowdown in the country, especially during the second half of the year, while Hengan faced new rivals in the sector.

Based on the information provided by the company,  its gross margin profit declined to 37.1% last year from 42.3% in 2020. Hangen said it expects continuing pressure for “most of the time in 2022” as wool-pulp costs remain elevated. 

Hengan and other companies 

As stated above, shares of Hangen declined on Tuesday. However, it was not the only company from China that suffered losses on Tuesday.  

Shares of China Eastern Airlines in Hong Kong fell 2.55% after its Boeing 737 passenger crashed on Monday. 

However, stocks in Asia-Pacific were mostly higher on Tuesday, as Hong Kong-listed shares of Alibaba jumped after Alibaba announced an upsizing of its share repurchase program from $15 billion to $25 billion. 

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index led gains among the region’s major markets as it climbed 3.15% to 21,889.28.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 1.48% to end its trading day at 27,224.11. The Topix index added 1.28% to 1,933.74.

Mainland Chinese stocks were mixed on Tuesday. The Shanghai composite gained 0.19% to 3,259.86. The Shenzhen component dropped 0.492% to 12,318.78. 

South Korea’s Kospi added 0.89% to 2,710. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.86% to close 7,341.10.