Sa Sa to open more stores after getting confidence

Skincare and cosmetics retailer Sa Sa International Holdings Ltd on Thursday posted a 14.5 percent rise in first-half net profit as consumer sentiment and mainland tourist arrivals improved.

The Hong Kong-based retail chain operator’s net profit rose to HK$109.9 million ($14.1 million) for the six months ended in September from HK$96 million a year earlier. Analysts were expecting HK$118 million, according to Thomson Reuters SmartEstimate.

Revenue climbed to HK$3.66 billion from HK$3.60 billion a year earlier.

“We aim to capitalise on weakness in the rental cycle to establish more strategic locations to improve our brand exposure and stimulate sales,” Chairman Simon Kwok said in a filing to the Hong Kong bourse.

Retail sales in Hong Kong and Macau rose 2.2 percent, while gross profit margin improved to 42.2 percent from 41.4 percent. The company operated a network of 283 stores and counters as of end-September, unchanged from the year-ago period.

Sa Sa had earlier said that for the July-September quarter its retail and wholesale turnover rose 1.1 percent year-on-year, narrowing from a 2.1 percent growth in the previous quarter.

In its home base of Hong Kong, retail sales grew in September at the fastest year-on-year pace in more than 30 months, government data showed, as increasing numbers of mainland visitors helped boost spending, particularly on watches and jewellery.

Benefiting from improved consumer sentiment, China’s top jeweller Chow Tai Fook Jewellery on Tuesday posted a 46 percent profit rise in the first half and said it aimed to continue expanding in mainland China in the second.

Sa Sa shares rose 2.5 percent on Thursday prior to the results announcement, outpacing a 0.1 percent gain in the benchmark index.