Asian Citrus vows to increase dividend Chinese orange plantation group Asian Citrus pledged to increase its interim dividend by half just days after denying allegations that it produces fewer oranges than it claims. The Aim-quoted company increased its half-year dividend to Rmb0.03 from Rmb0.02, and added a special dividend of Rmb0.02. It also announced it would buy back HK$250m worth of shares from investors over the next nine months. The news came as the group reported its pre-tax profit fell by more than a quarter to Rmb391.5m ($62.1m) in the first six months to December 31, despite a 67 per cent increase in revenues to Rmb1.04bn. Earlier this week the group became the latest foreign-listed Chinese company to come under public scrutiny after a Chinese-language magazine made broader accusations surrounding its business. Asian Citrus disputed the report. Sue Munden, analyst at the company's broker Seymour Pierce, said the company's dividend and share buy-back programme reflected "a decisive show of strength," adding, "sceptics must heed the clear evidence of cash flow generation."