Li & Fung has announced that for 2012, its core operating profit will probably be down by about 40 percent from 2011 because of restructuring costs and other provisions related to LF USA's operations. The other segments of the company have met expectations. Li & Fung, which manages global supply chains for many major retailers, warned in August that its turnaround in the U.S. was going more slowly than expected, hurting core operating profit for the first half. Nonetheless, that figure still went up by 33 percent for the six months. For all of 2012, the company doesn't expect that profit attributable to shareholders will reach the level of 2011, when it was $681.4 million. The figures are preliminary; final 2012 statistics will be released in March. Last month, Dow Peter Famulak was named president of LF USA, replacing Richard Nixon Darling, who has stepped back to take a non-operating role in the group.

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