China's Zhongjin Gold profits plunge

Net profits at Zhongjin Gold Corporation Ltd., China's leading gold producer, plummeted more than 72.32 percent in 2013 from the previous year, the company announced on Friday. The decrease was attributed to the decline in the price of gold and fluctuations of other non-ferrous metal prices, the company said in its annual report filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The company's net profits tumbled to 431.1 million yuan (70 million U.S. dollars) last year. Its total assets hit 23.4 billion yuan at the end of December, up 8.97 percent from a year earlier. The stock price of the company edged up 0.12 percent to close at 8.04 yuan per share on Friday. The price of gold has been slumping after hitting a peak in 2011.