(17 ?December ?2009)── Luk ?Fook ?Holdings ?(International) ?Limited (SEHK Code: 590) ?(“Luk Fook”/ “The Group”) today announced its interim ?results for the six months ended 30 September 2009. During the period under review, ?revenue ?increased ?by ?15% ?to ?HK$2,087,637,000 ?(2008: ?HK$1,814,692,000). ?Profit ?attributable ?to ?shareholders ?amounted ?to ?HK$188,449,000 ?(2008: ?HK$123,033,000), ?up ?53.2% ?from ?that ?of ?the ?previous ?year. ?Earnings ?per ?share ?were ?HK$38.26 ?cents ?(2008: ?HK$ ?24.98 ?cents). ?The ?Board ?recommends ?an ?interim ?dividend ?of ?HK$15.0 ?cents (2008: HK$5.0 cents) per share for the period ended 30 September 2009.
Mr. ?Wong ?Wai ?Sheung, ?Chief ?Executive ?of ?Luk ?Fook, ?said, ?“Despite ?the ?prospects ?for ?global ?recovery ?remain ?uncertain, ?China ?maintains ?a ?strong ?GDP ?growth. ?The ?purchasing ?power ?of ?PRC ?customers ?is ?increasingly ?high, ?and ?their ?demand ?for ?luxury ?goods ?increases substantially ?as well. ?The ?performance ?of ?our ?retail stores remains strong. Revenue from the retail business in China recorded a growth ?of ?45.9% from ?HK$69,719,000 ?to ?HK$101,711,000. ?The ?Group ?is ?confident ?in the China market and endeavors to raise its share.”
During the period, Luk Fook operates a total of 508 retail stores in China (2008: ?421 ?stores), ?Hong ?Kong, ?Macau, ?Canada ?and ?the ?United ?States, ?with ?31 stores in Hong Kong, ?4 in Macau, 2 in the ?United States and 2 in Canada and a total of 469 retail stores in China. For the period ended 30 September 2009, total revenue from retail business amounted to HK$1,584,308,000(2008: ?HK$1,393,697,000), up 13.7% from the same period of last year.
Two ?new ?shops ?were ?opened ?at ?Tsim ?Sha ?Tsui ?including ?a ?flagship ?store ?in ?Hong Kong during the period, further enhancing its brand image. Moreover, the Group acquired ?the ?whole ?block ?of ?a ?commercial ?building ?in ?Jordon ?mainly ?for ?the purpose of the Group’s head office building in August.
Regarding the business in China, the Group established 37 brand stores during ?the ?period, ?accumulating ?its ?total ?number ?to ?437 ?(2008: ?367 ?shops). ?Apart from ?expanding ?the ?Group’s ?brand ?stores ?network, ?the ?Group ?set-up ?operated stores as well. As at 30th September 2009, the Group had 32 self-operated stores in China ?(2008: ?17 ?shops), ?of ?which ?13 ?are ?newly ?established. ?The ?first ?self-operated stores in Shanxi and Jiangsu provinces were also opened during the period.
Motivated ?by ?the ?opening ?of ?gambling ?licenses ?and ?individual ?visit scheme, ?visitor ?arrivals ?to ?Macau ?increased ?3.28 ?times ?from ?7,440,000 ?in ?1999 ?to 22,900,000 last year and the number is on the rise. The flourishing tourism in Macau brings considerable profit to the Group. During the period under review, revenue from Macau stores increased over 80% from the same period last year.
Mr. Wong Wai Sheung, Chief Executive of Luk Fook said, “Looking ahead, with ?the ?strong ?economic ?growth, ?PRC ?consumers ?are ?increasingly ?affluent. ?Our Group’s future development will be focused on China. We are planning to open more retail stores in the first-tier cities and expand the sales network to the second and third-tier cities in China the coming years. While opening self-operated stores in China, ?the ?Group ?also ?establishes ?brand ?stores ?actively ?so ?that ?Luk ?Fook’s ?brand image can be enhanced among PRC consumers. ”
In ?recognition ?of ?the ?Group’s ?outstanding ?product ?quality, ?the ?Group won the “PRC Consumers’ Most Favorable Hong Kong Brands 2009 – Gold Prize” for 4 consecutive years, it also attained “My Favourite Jewellery Brand of Hong Kong” in “My Best Favourite Brand in Hong Kong 2009”, demonstrating the credible brand image of Luk Fook among the consumers in Great China Region.
As ?for ?marketing ?campaigns, ?the ?Group ?promotes ?and ?publicizes ?Luk Fook ?brand ?through ?a ?series ?of ?sponsorships ?and ?advertisements. ?It sponsored Jewellery ?pieces in ?several ?key ?dramas, ?beauty ?contests ?in China, ?Hong ?Kong ?as well ?as ?overseas ?and ?placed ?advertisements ?on the ?main ?TV ?channels ?in ?Hong Kong ?and ?China. ?During ?the ?period, ?the ?Group ?continued ?to ?sponsor ?beauty contests such as “Miss Hong Kong Pageant” for the 12th consecutive years.
About Luk Fook Holdings (International) Ltd. (Stock Code: 590)
Luk Fook principally engages in the sourcing, designing, wholesaling and retailing of a ?variety ?of ?gold ?Jewellery, ?gold ?ornaments, ?gem-set ?Jewellery, ??gemstones and other accessory items. Luk Fook Group currently has more than a total of 510 retail stores in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Canada and the United States.
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