CTI.L Share News (CTI)

(ShareCast News) - Healthcare business Cathay International swung to a first-half loss due to challenging pricing conditions.Shares in the Hong Kong based company fell on Friday, shedding 14.61%to 19p by 1542 BST.Cathay posted a loss of $1.256m in the first half of 2015, from a pre-tax profit of $3.721m.Revenue decreased by 16.8% to $62.2m from $74.7m, resulting from a revenue drop at its Lansen and Haizi units.China's pharmaceutical sales growth slowed to 12.9% in the first half of the year, as regulators monitored drug price volatility, Cathay said in its results."As a result, the industry has continued to face downward pressure on drug prices and margins, and it is estimated that the rate of pharmaceutical sales growth in China could slow to around 10% later in 2015."Chief executive Lee Jin-Yi said the first half was challenging, and the second half would remain challenging due to current economic conditions in China as well as factors specific to the business."Cathay has robust operations and, with management's anticipation of the current pharma market slowdown and ongoing strategic product diversification, the group will continue to navigate through the challenging conditions."