Asian Citrus raises dividend following fraud allegations

Asian Citrus (ACHL.LON, 0073.HKG), a Chinese company that makes and sells vegetable and fruit juices, increased its half-year dividend just days after denying allegations that it produces fewer oranges than it claims, the Financial Times reported. The company raised its dividend to RMB0.03 from RMB0.02 and added a special dividend of RMB0.02. Asian Citrus also announced it would buy back HK$250 million (US$32.24 million) worth of shares over the next nine months in an effort to boost its stock price. The news came as the firm reported that its pre-tax profit fell by more than a quarter to RMB391.5 million (US$62.1 million) in the first six months to December 31, though revenues grew 67% to RMB1.04 billion (US$165.1 million). A Chinese-language magazine earlier this week accused the plantation owner of exaggerating the scale of its business, a charge Asian Citrus has denied.