Christine Leung News

Hutchison's Core Profits Fall At Slow, Steady Pace

First-half profits for Li Ka-shing's Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. will be a festival of one-off gains and charges on its sinking telecoms holdings, but core profits will fall sharply as wireless spending offsets growth in energy and infrastructure operations. Hutchison is expected to post a net profit of HK$2.3 billion to HK$19.2 billion (US$295 million-$2.46 billion), depending on the size of provisions it takes on the falling value of Vodafone Plc and Deutsche Telekom, according to brokerage analysts. Hutchison, which has businesses spanning telecoms, container ports, retailing property and energy, will report its results on Thursday. However…