ND Paper (02689) surged over 8% in afternoon trading. As of press time, the stock was up 8.11% to HK$5.2 with a turnover of HK$194 million.

On the news front, ND Paper issued a profit alert during midday trading. The group expects to achieve annual profit (for the year ending June 30, 2025) of approximately RMB 2.1 billion to RMB 2.3 billion, representing an increase of 165% to 190% compared to last year's RMB 794 million.

The profit growth is primarily attributed to increased sales volume and the fact that raw material costs declined at a significantly faster pace than product selling prices, thereby boosting gross margins.

The company issued USD 400 million in perpetual capital securities in June 2024. The profit attributable to perpetual capital securities holders for this year is approximately RMB 400 million. Consequently, the group expects profit attributable to equity holders of the company for this year to be approximately RMB 1.7 billion to RMB 1.9 billion, representing an increase of 126% to 153% compared to last year's RMB 751 million.