Beauty products retailer Sa Sa International has warned its half year profits will plunge by 50 per cent.

The warning came as the brand revealed a 12.4 per cent decline in overall sales for the September quarter across both retail and wholesale channels. While it did not break out figures by market, it says there were declines in every one, including Singapore.

“The group’s retail and wholesale turnover in other markets (including Mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and sasa.com) recorded a drop of 8.9 per cent during this period.”

The profit warning filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange said preliminary analysis of accounts for the six months to September 30 pointed to a record decline in profit for the group.

It blamed “the worsening operating environment of the retail sector which has led to significant drops in both sales and gross profit and reduced operational efficiency as a result”.

in the last quarter, “turnover in Hong Kong and Macau markets declined by 13.2 per cent, while same store sales decreased by 10.1 per cent. The number of transactions decreased by 5.7 per cent, while the average sales per transaction decreased by 7.9 per cent,” the company said.

Sa Sa said overall consumer sentiment and Mainland Chinese arrivals “continued to be adversely affected by a number of factors with no significant signs of improvement”.

“The strength of the Hong Kong dollar and the weaker yuan adversely affected the attractiveness of shopping in Hong Kong for both local consumers and Mainland Chinese visitors.”

Sa Sa says it will work on optimising product offerings and enhancing its customers’ shopping experiences to strengthen its position in all of its markets.

The company says it will release final results for the half before November 30.