China’s business casual apparel company Xiniya Fashion has reported a 21.4 per cent profit decline in the third quarter.

Net profit dropped to 56.4 million yuan (US$9 million) from 71.8 million yuan (US$11.5 million) a year earlier. That’s because the company spent more on refurbishment of existing retail stores, training, advertising and opening new flagships compared to the previous year.

Gross revenue increased by 15.7 per cent to 417.9 million yuan (US$67 million), as compared to 361.1 million yuan (US$57.9 million) during the previous year, which exceeded the prior expectation of eight – 11 per cent.

“On the back of continued store expansion and the rapid conversion of our authorised retailer- managed retail outlets, we were able to beat guidance with another strong quarter of top line revenue growth,” said chairman and CEO Qiming Xu.

The company expects a revenue increase of four to seven per cent for the remaining quarter. A further 100+ stores are in planning although the time frame for these is unclear.

As at September 30, Xiniya Fashion had 1679 retail stores.

GB