July 29 – Shandong Oriental Ocean Sci-tech (002086) posted a 31.26-percent year-on-year increase in net profits during the first half of 2011 to 32.62 million yuan, reports p5w.com, citing a company filing. Sales revenue grew 33.98 percent year-on-year to 329 million yuan and earnings per share hit 0.13 yuan.

During that period, Oriental Ocean’s seafood processing expanded as output and sales respectively grew 25 and 15 percent year-on-year. Gross profit margin rose by 3.92 percent year-on-year.

The Yantai-based firm formed a subsidiary in Beijing in April in an attempt to speed up the creation of a domestic sales network. The firm expects that net profits in the first nine months might grow by 30 and 50 percent year-on-year.

Sales volume and output of sea cucumber, a staple in coastal Shandong province, grew 59 percent year-on-year, and revenues surged 52 percent. However, with higher costs, gross profit margin from sea cucumber sales slipped 7.36 percent.