nine dragons paper holdings ltd shares fell early monday after the company warned of a firsthalf net loss shares of the hong konglisted paper product manufacturer fell as much as 86 to 628 hong kong dollars us080 they were last 70 lower at hk639 net loss for the first half of the year is expected to range between cny125 billion us1845 million and cny145 billion it said in a filing late friday citing higher production costs due to the russiaukraine conflict the company also said that it expected a significant decrease in its gross profit margins in the first half while a firsthalf loss was widely expected by the market the net loss warning was slightly worsethanexpected citi analysts eric lau and alice cai said in a research report citi said it expected nine dragons to continue to make losses in the third quarter of the year due to profitmargin pressure and low seasonal demand during the lunar new year holidays however the company could turn profitable in the fourth quarter if the manufacturer was able to raise its average selling prices by march they added citi has a neutral rating and target price of hk580 on the stock