China's Laopu Gold hits 18-month low on revenue forecast miss
BUZZ-China's Laopu Gold hits 18-month low on revenue forecast miss ** Shares of Laopu Gold 6181.HK drop 17.8% to HK$325.8, their lowest level since January 2025
** Stock set for biggest one-day pct decline since April 2025; top pct loser on the Hang Seng Index .HSI, which is up 0.3%
** Chinese jewellery maker and distributor expects H1 Non-IFRS adjusted net profit to jump 83%-85% y/y to 4.31 bln yuan-4.36 bln yuan ($637.08 mln-$644.47 mln), with revenue up 60%-66% to 19.8 bln yuan-20.45 bln yuan on improvement in high-value customer consumption and gold ornaments consumption
** Morningstar says improvement in profitability beats expectations but revenue lags forecast due to subdued buying amid falling gold prices in second quarter
** With 16.5 bln yuan-17.5 bln yuan first-quarter revenue, Laopu's second-quarter revenue is estimated to decline over 20% y/y - Morningstar
** Jefferies says Laopu's 1H26 profit estimate, while positive YoY, represents a significant miss against market projections as 2Q26 results are especially soft, impacted by macro gold price trends and intermediary inventory issues
** "We expect a negative market reaction to the news" - Jefferies
** YTD, stock down 46.8%
($1 = 6.7652 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Donny Kwok)