(Yicai) March 28 -- Shares of Fosun International gained ground after the Chinese conglomerate turned profitable again last year by unloading non-core assets such as its steelmaking business.

The Hong Kong-listed equity of the owner of financial, property, and healthcare businesses [HKG: 0656] advanced by 3.3 percent to close at HKD4.08 (50 US cents).

Fosun International earned CNY1.4 billion (USD190 million) in net profit last year after recording a net loss of CNY831.8 million (USD115.1 million) the year before, the Shanghai-headquartered firm announced in its earnings report yesterday. Revenue rose by 9 percent to CNY198.2 billion (USD27.4 billion). Revenues of the four core subsidiaries of Yuyuan Tourist Mart Group, Fosun Pharmaceutical Group, Fosun Tourism Group, and Portugal's largest insurance firm Fidelidade made up 72 percent of the total.

In recent years, the Chinese parent has started to streamline its operations, focusing on health, happiness, and wealth, after spending years making strategic investments around the globe to have its total assets exceed CNY800 billion.

Chairman Guo Guangchang said during an earnings call today that in the past year, the conglomerate secured CNY27.3 billion (USD3.8 billion) by accelerating its disposal of less important assets, including exiting the steel industry.

"Considering the current interest rate levels and financing environment, we will focus on light asset development in the future." The chairman added that a core goal of future operations is stable profit growth while the firm will gradually increase dividends. The message has been clear since the second half of last year as Guo has repeatedly said publicly that the conglomerate will continue to reduce its debt and focus on light assets.

The efforts to balance debt are working as Fosun International's interest-bearing debt fell by CNY15 billion last year and its debt-to-capital ratio narrowed by almost 3 percent to 50.4 percent. Cash, bank balances, and fixed deposits reached CNY92.5 billion.

The firm trusts the domestic market is still recovering after the Covid-19 pandemic. "We firmly believe in the resilience of China's economic development and are optimistic about China's growth. Our globalization strategy is more about building global capabilities, selling products globally, integrating research and development globally, and integrating markets globally," Guo said.

Overseas markets are indeed becoming increasingly important to the company as such revenue climbed by 6 percent to CNY89.2 billion last year, making up 45 percent of the total.

Editor: Emmi Laine