HK Stock Market Move | LAOPU GOLD (06181) fell by nearly 9% at the close, with the rise in gold prices squeezing the company's gross profit margin. A possible increase in product prices is expected to protect the profit margin in the second half of the year.

LAOPU GOLD (06181) fell nearly 9% in the closing session, down 7.83% as of the time of writing, at HK$753, with a turnover of HK$1.92 billion. On the news front, LAOPU GOLD recently announced a price increase for its products. It is reported that the company adjusts prices two to three times a year, with only one price adjustment in February 2025 in the first half of the year. However, due to the rapid increase in gold prices, the gross profit margin in the first half of the year was 38.1%, a decrease of 3.2 percentage points year-on-year. In addition, according to Wind data, by the end of June, approximately 69.05 million shares of LAOPU GOLD were unlocked, accounting for 41.01% of the total share capital, including early investment institutions, founder Xu Gaoming, and employee shareholding platforms. Nomura released a research report stating that LAOPU GOLD is a direct beneficiary of the recent strong rise in gold prices. The strong trend of gold prices and the practice of the Chinese central bank increasing gold reserves have strengthened the belief of Chinese consumers that buying gold and gold products can preserve assets and wealth. The bank pointed out that LAOPU GOLD has raised product prices for the second time in 2025, which should help protect the company's profit margin in the second half of the year.