Daphne Int'l sees net profit reach HK$261 mln in H1

Sep. 1, 2009 (China Knowledge) - Daphne International Holdings Ltd<0210>, a leading manufacturer of footwear, apparel and accessories in China, announced that its net profit was HK$261 million in the first half of this year, up 1.1% year on year.

The company's turnover rose 11.5% from a year earlier to HK$2.77 billion in the first six months of this year. The Daphne brand saw turnover rise 13.5% year on year during the period, while the turnover of the Shoebox brand, which became the main growth driver, surged 65.9% year on year.

The company said that its expansion is ahead of schedule and that its expansion goals for 2009 will remain unchanged. Focusing on second-tier cities, it will open 350 Daphne points-of-sale and 250 Shoebox points-of-sale to promote the brands' business development.

The Shanghai-based company also said that it will close its eight Nike stores in the second half of this year and sell 107 Adidas stores.

Chen Yingjie, general manager of Daphne, forecast that the company will maintain double digit growth rate in revenue and profit this year, and will keep the capital expenditure at HK$200 million.

As of the end of June, the group had nearly 4,000 points-of-sale for the Daphne, Shoebox, Adidas, Nike, Arezzo, Sofft and Born brands in 31 provinces and municipalities in mainland China and Taiwan.