Hong Kong company Li & Fung has seen its 2013 net profit surge 17 per cent to $725 million.

The company, whose core business is sourcing and managing the supply chain for retailers, said core operating profit increased by 70 per cent to $871 million.

And it said the solid performance was driven by the positive performance in the distribution network, following the turnaround of LF USA, continued growth momentum in the logistics network and continued dominance and resilience of its core business.

“We proved successful against uncertain external conditions, achieved strong growth, and finished the year by delivering on the promise to return to 2011 operating levels,” said chairman William Fung.

The company has also created a new ‘Three-Year Plan’ designed to accelerate organic growth across all areas of the business and leverage the multi-channel sourcing platform across its trading network.

In light of the focus on accelerating growth and providing multi-channel sourcing to customers, it reaffirmed the importance of the new Vendor Support Services unit (VSS) previously announced in January 2014. The VSS unit will seek to improve operational efficiencies in the global vendor base enabling the company to better serve customers and strengthen their global supply chain.

The company reorganised its distribution network, aligning its private label businesses which rely more on sourcing skills with the trading network.

It also created ‘Global Brands Group’, comprised of its brands and licensing businesses.

Li & Fung also decided to apply for a possible spin-off and separate listing of its ‘Global Brands Group’ on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.