HK Stock Market Move | L & M CHEMICAL (00746) surged over 12% in the afternoon with a 36% increase in net profit in the first half of the year. The interim dividend payment is 19.5 Hong Kong cents.

L & M CHEMICAL (00746) rose more than 12% in the afternoon, rising 12.06% to HK$4.83 by the time of the report, with a trading volume of HK$40.544 million. In terms of news, L & M CHEMICAL released its mid-year performance for 2025 at lunchtime, with group income remaining steady at HK$1.932 billion; thanks to a significant decrease in energy costs and a drop in raw material prices, profits increased by 36.0% to HK$327 million; gross profit margin rose by 7.4 percentage points to 36.3%, with a proposed interim dividend of HK$0.195 per share. The announcement pointed out that after increasing the dividend payout ratio to 49.6% last year, the group's financial position remains strong, with a mid-term net debt ratio of 3.2%.