CHINA LIT (00772) surged over 16% again, rising 15.02% to HK$43.04 as of press time, with trading volume reaching HK$666 million. On the news front, the animated series and live-action TV drama adaptations of Qidian IP "A Record of Mortal's Journey to Immortality" have been hugely popular during the summer season. CHINA LIT announced a "National Creative Content Strategic Cooperation Plan" with Tencent's flagship game Honor of Kings, where both parties will explore collaboration opportunities in the national creative content field. Exclusive merchandise products jointly produced by the group's subsidiary Yuewen Haowu are currently available for pre-order on the official flagship store and Honor of Kings official mall.
Additionally, CHINA LIT reported H1 revenue of 3.191 billion yuan, down 23.9% year-on-year, while net profit attributable to shareholders reached 850 million yuan, up 68.5% year-on-year. Citigroup released a research report stating that CHINA LIT's H1 performance slightly exceeded expectations, mainly benefiting from growth in licensing business, steady performance of short dramas, and progress in IP merchandising, leading to stronger-than-expected profit growth in non-New Classics Media business.
Looking ahead to H2, Citigroup expects CHINA LIT's IP merchandising to continue making progress. The momentum in short drama growth is expected to continue, benefiting from unique IP and author collaborations. If NCM releases content as planned, the NCM business is expected to contribute 243 million yuan in profit this year.