(Yicai Global) July 25 -- With its share price doubled in the past 30 days, Fangda Carbon New Material Co. [SHA:600516] registered a 2,647 percent increase in net profit in the first half compared with the same period last year, mainly driven by steep rises in graphite electrode prices in China, the company said in an earnings growth forecast statement yesterday.

Its net profit was USD2.2 million in the first half of 2016, implying that the net profit for the first half of this year is close to USD59 million. The rise in the price of Fangda's core product is mainly attributable to an extensive reduction in backward production capacity as a result of tightened environmental regulation and changes in supply and demand, per the statement.

Its core product, graphite electrode, is mainly used for electric arc furnace steelmaking. The statement did not disclose the average graphite electrode sales price in the first half relative to that recorded for the same period last year.

However, the media reports in China suggested that graphite electrode prices has so far increased by almost 400 percent this year, driven by the recovering steel sector and elimination of traditional steelmaking furnaces by local governments, which in turn led to growing demand for electric furnaces and graphite electrodes.

Fangda Carbon's share price doubled on the A-share market in the last 30 days, registering a 177 percent rise since early this year. The stock closed 10.01 percent higher after hitting its upper limit yesterday.