Finance Notes: Chinese Sportswear Brand Li Ning Narrows Net Loss In First Half

Troubled Chinese sportswear company Li Ning saw "losses narrow and sales rise" as it battles to regain its place in the mainland sportswear market. For the first half of '15, net losses shrank to 29M yuan ($4.5M) from 585.8M yuan in the same period a year earlier, the company said on Thursday. It added that revenue grew 16% year-on-year to 3.6B yuan ($560M) in the first half (FINANCIAL TIMES, 8/13). ... Strong performances from News Corp.'s digital real estate and book publishing divisions helped the "media giant offset another year of declining revenue in its traditional media businesses." Adjusting for impairments, News Corp. reported a profit of $272M for the year ended June 30, a 1.5% increase from the previous year, "which was largely in line with analyst forecasts." Overall, News Corp. reported $455M in "impairment and restructuring costs" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 8/13).