CJ Cheiljedang's Q2 net plunges 73 pct

SEOUL, July 21 (Yonhap) -- CJ Cheiljedang Corp., South Korea's largest food company, said Thursday that its second-quarter earnings plunged 73.4 percent from a year earlier due to higher grain prices. Net profit came to 116 billion won (US$110 million) in the April-June period, compared with a profit of 436.6 billion won last year, CJ Cheiljedang said in a regulatory filing. Sales rose 12 percent on-year to 1.5 trillion won over the period, while operating profit fell 21 percent to 88 billion won. Shares of CJ Cheiljedang closed at 271,000 won on the Seoul bourse, down 0.37 percent from the previous session's close. The second-quarter business results were released after the market closed. CJ Cheiljedang said its mainstream food-making business division suffered from increased prices of sugar and wheat. CJ Cheiljedang also said its first-half net profit fell 61 percent to 199 billion won while its sales jumped 16.1 percent to 3.14 trillion won.