China's ZTE H1 net profit slides 68%

China's ZTE Corp, the world's fourth-biggest mobile vendor and fifth-ranked telecoms gear maker, reported first-half net profit slid by more than two thirds.

January-June net profit dropped to 244.88 million yuan ($38.5 million) from 769 million yuan a year earlier, but beat a forecast of 223.6 million yuan, according to seven analysts polled by Reuters.

Based on Reuters calculations, second-quarter profit slumped to 94.01 million yuan, compared to a forecast of 72.7 million yuan.

ZTE shares earlier closed down 0.2 percent, outperforming a 1.1 percent drop on the benchmark Hang Seng stock index.

($1 = 6.3562 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Lee Chyen Yee; editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Ian Geoghegan)