Steel H1 net profit down 12 pct

Steel-to-property conglomerate CITIC Pacific said on Thursday its first-half net profit fell 12 percent due to a lack of gains from disposals, but strong growth in special steel and infrastructure businesses helped partly offset the high comparison effect.

Beijing-backed CITIC Pacific, which has shifted its investment focus to mainland China and diversified into retail and power, posted a net profit of HK$4.38 billion ($561 million) in the first six months of 2008.

That compared with profit of HK$4.97 billion in the same period last year when its booked a HK$1.9 billion profit from the listing of CITIC 1616 .

Shares in CITIC Pacific lost 34 percent in the first half, underperforming a 20.5 percent drop on the blue chip Hang Seng Index <.HSI> in the same period. ($1=HK$7.807)