(Yicai Global) Oct. 24 -- Shares of Pientzehuang Pharmaceutical plunged by the exchange-imposed daily limit after the maker of traditional Chinese medicines reported lower earnings for the first time in eight years.

Pientzehuang [SHA: 600436] closed down 10 percent at CNY231.62 (USD31.91) a share today. The stock price has dived 47 percent so far this year.

Net profit fell 18 percent from a year earlier to CNY740 million (USD102 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30, the Zhangzhou-based firm’s earnings report showed on Oct. 21. Revenue fell 3.1 percent to CNY2.2 billion (USD303 million). It is the first time the firm’s earnings have declined since the third quarter of 2014, according to Wind Information data.

Nine-month profit rose 8.3 percent to CNY2.1 billion on a 2 percent gain in revenue to CNY6.6 billion. That compared with increase of 51 percent and 21 percent respectively in the same period of 2021.

Drug making remained the main source of income for Pientzehuang, accounting for CNY3.1 billion of total revenue and a gross profit margin of 78 percent, the highest among its peers. But margins are narrowing across segments, with the company’s daily chemical products business seeing a 9.4 percent decrease.

Pientzehuang listed in Shanghai in 2003. Last year, the company’s market capitalization neared CNY300 billion (USD41.3 billion), driven by Pian Zai Huang, a TCM used to treat liver diseases, pro-inflammatory conditions, and cancer, priced at CNY1,000 (USD138) a pill, compared with CNY400 now.

Editor: Martin Kadiev