(SinoCast via NewsEdge) Network equipment maker ZTE reported that a 46% decline in net profit in the first half of this year.
In a report, ZTE said it posted a net profit of 347 million yuan ($43.6 million), compared to the 660 million yuan ($83 million ) it posted in the same period last year.
The firm however reported a turnover of 10.491 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) for the period, up by 1.82% over 10.3 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) in the same period of last year.
ZTE president Yin Yimin said ZTE's gross profit rates were 35% and 36.7% in the first half periods of 2006 and 2005 respectively.
The slump of net profit is attributable to the enterprise's overseas expansion and product development, the executive said.
'In the first half of 2006, we increased the investment in overseas markets,' Yin said. 'The contribution of domestic businesses to the overall income dropped from 69.5% to 62.2%, and correspondingly, the contribution of overseas businesses increased by 7%.'
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