(Yicai) April 1 -- Shares in Fosun International soared today after the Chinese conglomerate’s chairman said that he plans to double the company’s profits by placing a stronger emphasis on its core businesses, which range from healthcare to tourism.

Fosun’s share price [HKG:0656] surged 6.2 percent to close at HKD4.43 (USD0.60) today, giving the firm a market capitalization of HKD36.3 billion (USD4.7 billion).

Fosun aims to double its annual operating profit in the coming years to CNY10 billion (USD1.4 billion) a year, up from CNY4.9 billion (USD674.1 million) in 2024, Guo Guangchang said during the earnings call today. No specific timeline was provided.

Fosun incurred a one-time loss of CNY5.1 billion (USD701.7 million) last year due to a big drop in the value of its stake in Cainiao, the logistics arm of e-commerce group Alibaba Group Holding, according to its financial report released on March 30. This dragged the Shanghai-based company into the red with a net loss of CNY4.3 billion (USD591.5 million). Revenue tumbled 3 percent to CNY192.1 billion (USD26.4 billion). 

Fosun’s four main subsidiaries, namely Yuyuan Tourist Mart, Fosun Pharmaceutical, Fosun Insurance Portugal and Fosun Tourism Group, generated a combined CNY134.7 billion (USD18.5 billion) in revenue last year, accounting for 70 percent of total income. This demonstrates that the company’s shift to prioritizing core assets is paying off, the report said.

Since facing a liquidity crisis in 2022, Fosun has aggressively divested non-core assets to reduce its debt. Last year alone, it sold CNY17.5 billion (USD2.4 billion) worth of assets, and from 2022 to 2024 it offloaded CNY75 billion worth.

Looking ahead, Fosun will continue to exit capital-heavy projects to reduce its financial leverage, with the aim of gradually cutting its interest-bearing debt to CNY60 billion (USD8.2 billion) from CNY80 billion (USD11 billion), Guo said.

Fosun’s overseas revenue climbed 6 percent last year from the year before, representing 49 percent of its total income. The company plans to continue expanding its global operations to boost its share of revenue from international markets, Guo added.

Editor: Kim Taylor