China: Profit Down at Aluminum Producer.

The Aluminum Corporation of China, the nation's biggest producer of aluminum, posted a 25 percent fall in second-half profit after prices declined and raw material costs increased. Net income dropped to 3.8 billion yuan in the six months ended Dec. 31, from a revised 5.1 billion yuan a year earlier, the company said. Aluminum prices in China dropped 7.7 percent in the second half from a year earlier after producers increased supplies too quickly. The company said higher prices of raw materials, power and transport would put more pressure on costs this year. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]