HL Asia

HL Asia: Posted a 73.1% decline in earnings for 2Q12 to $4.98m from a restated $18.50m yoy. Earnings for 1H12 slid 48.9% to $18.91m yoy. Weak performance was attributed to lower sales from its diesel engine and white goods units. Grp expects to remain profitable in FY12 though the next qtr could pose a challenge with a potential tax exposure of up to $7.0m due to white goods unit Xinfei's disagreement with the Chinese tax authority on the application of high-tech tax incentive status. The group has declared an interim dividend of 1c/share, down from its 3c/share dividend call yoy.