LEE & MAN PAPER (02314) announces its annual performance, with a profit attributable to ordinary shareholders of HK$1.313 billion, an increase of 24.92% year-on-year.

LEE & MAN PAPER (02314) released its annual performance as of December 31, 2024. The group achieved a revenue of HK$25.995 billion, an increase of 4.24% year-on-year; net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders was HK$1.313 billion, a 24.92% increase year-on-year; basic earnings per share were 30.56 HK cents; a final dividend of 4.5 HK cents per share is proposed. In 2024, the macro economy continued to face downward pressure, with weak consumer demand. The Chinese paper industry showed resilience in the face of excess capacity digestion and volatile pulp prices, benefiting from a series of government stimuli such as lowering reserve requirements and interest rates to boost consumption, leading to a gradual recovery in downstream demand and overall restoration of paper companies within the year. The group's pulp production lines in Chongqing, Jiangxi, and Guangxi, which started operations in 2023, ran smoothly throughout the year. The vertically integrated business model allowed the group to leverage economies of scale, further reducing costs and driving profit and margin improvements. Meanwhile, overseas production bases in Vietnam and Malaysia continued to demonstrate cost advantages and achieve significant profits. The overall gross profit margin increased by two percentage points to 12.0% during the year.