Luk Fook Holdings (International) Limited announced its interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2007. During the period under review, turnover decreased by 3.1% to HK$1,360,565,000(2006:HK$1,403,982,000). Profit attributable to shareholders amounted to approximately HK$118,496,000 (2006: 84,776,000), up 39.8% from that of the previous year. Earnings per share were 24.06 HK cents (2006: HK 17.29 cents) and cash on hand was approximately HK$136,311,000 as at 30 September 2007. The Board recommends an interim dividend of 10.0 HK cents (2006: 7.0 HK cents) per share for the period ended 30 September 2007.
Mr. Wong Wai Sheung, Chief Executive of Luk Fook, said, ¡§During the period, despite the drop in the turnover of our wholesale business, thanks to the lucrative stock market and the growing spending from both the PRC and the local consumers, the performance of our retail sales remains strong and grew by 36.5% to over HK$1 billion, compared to the same period of last year. I am very pleased with the quickening of expansion in the PRC and we believe the PRC operation will become a major growth engine for us.¡¨
At present, Luk Fook operates a total of more than 350 retail outlets in Hong Kong, the PRC, Macau, Canada and the United States. The Group currently runs 28 shops in Hong Kong, 3 in Macau, 2 in the United States and Canada and a total of over 320 retail outlets in the PRC. For the period ended 30 September 2007, total turnover from retail business amounted to HK$1,025,429,000 (2006: HK$751,111,000), up 36.5% from the same period of last year.
During the period, 3 new shops were opened in Hong Kong and are located in Mong Kok and Causeway Bay, where shopping centers concentrate. Also, the Group¡¦s four outlets in Mongkok, North Point, Tsuen Wan and Macau have also undergone renovation to give customers a more pleasant environment to shop at Luk Fook.
For its PRC operations, the Group quickened the opening of new outlets during the period. Some shops newly arrived at 12 cities that Luk Fook first entered, such as Ningbo and Wuhan Cities. Another 3 new self-operated shops were also set up in Gansu, Shangdong and Zhejiang provinces. The speeding up of shop opening illustrated the Group¡¦s determination to expand its presence to new markets in the PRC.
Meanwhile, with the rapidly expanding gaming and tourism sectors in Macau, the revenue from the Group¡¦s Macau operations was significantly increased. Riding on the increasing number of tourists visiting Macau, the Group¡¦s third Macau branch was opened in December 2007 in the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian Resort.
Apart from the shops established in Canada and the United States, the Group also sought to explore other potential markets to extend its global reach. After the opening of LUVINA Jewelers in California, the US, last year, the Group has decided to further set its foothold in another US city. Up till the recent months, Luk Fook has successfully spotted out an appropriate location in New York and signed the leasehold contract. The new shop is scheduled to commence operation before 2008.
In recognition of the Group¡¦s outstanding sales performance, the Group was ranked one of the top 10 retailers in Hong Kong and received ¡§The 4th Retail Asia Pacific Top 500 Awards (2007)¡¨. Also, the Group gained ¡§The Best Brand Enterprise Award 2007 (Greater China)¡¨ organized by Hong Kong Productivity Council for 2 consecutive years, revealing the Group¡¦s success in the pursuit of brand excellence.
As for marketing campaigns, the Group continued to promote Luk Fook through a range of sponsorships and advertisements. It sponsored jewellery items in gaming shows, assorted beauty contests in various regions and placed advertisements on the main TV channels of Hong Kong and the PRC. The Group continued to sponsor beauty contests such as ¡§Miss Hong Kong Pageant¡¨ for the 10th consecutive years and ¡§Miss Asia Pageant¡¨ for several years.
¡§Looking ahead, with the huge development potentials in the PRC market, broadening our sales network remains our key focus in the following years. We will identify more growth opportunities and step up our efforts in providing high quality products and superior customer services to customers. We also look forward to bringing our presence to new overseas locations and take a further step to realize our long-term goal to become a renowned jeweler around the world.¡¨ Mr. Wong concluded.
