Comvita turns to a first-half loss as Chinese crackdown hurts sales

Comvita turns to a first-half loss as Chinese crackdown hurts sales
Tina Morrison
By Tina Morrison Feb. 21 (BusinessDesk) - Comvita, the manuka honey company, turned to a loss in the first half of its financial year after Chinese authorities cracked down on people selling its products through informal trading channels. The Te Puke-based company had a loss of $7.1 million, or 17.18 cents per share, in the six months ended Dec. 31, from a profit of $3 million, or 7.69 cents, in the year earlier period, it said in a statement. That's within its Jan. 23 forecast for a loss of between $7 million and $7.5 million. The earnin...