Luk Fook Hong Kong sales continued to decline in the second quarter – but its Mainland China operations helped make the figures look a lot healthier.

Luk Fook Holdings told the Hong Kong Stock Exchange its group-wide same store sales in the quarter to September 30 fell six per cent – a slower decline than in the preceding quarter, when same store sales dropped 18 per cent. In the quarter before that sales fell 20 per cent.

Same store Mainland China sales increased 13 per cent, primarily due to growing gem-set jewellery products.

In Hong Kong and Macau, Luk Fook’s sales fell by an unspecified “single digit” rate, which was again a marked improvement over the first quarter’s slump of 19 per cent. The company said that rise was aided by the mini “gold rush” of July and August.

The jeweller ended the quarter with 148 self-operated shops which included 85 shops in Mainland, 48 shops in Hong Kong, 10 shops in Macau and five overseas. It had 1263 licensed shops in Mainland China and one in South Korea.