China Agri-Industries Holdings Ltd, the nation's second-biggest soybean processor, said on Sunday that its profit for 2008 may not match its growth during the first nine months of this year. Profit for the first three quarters surged 180 percent from the HK$1.1 billion (US$142 million) posted for the year ended on December 31, 2007.

The profit was "due to moderate operations strategy and conservative hedging policy in its oil-seed business," China Agri said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange. The company gave no assurance profitability would be maintained for the full year.

(Shanghai Daily December 22, 2008)