Despite a 4 per cent dip in revenue, Ausupreme International Holdings has gained a listing on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
It describes this as a “significant milestone” in the strategic development of the group, which builds brands and retails health and personal-care products.
For the six months to the end of September, the group’s unaudited revenue was about HK$95.3 million (US$12.2 million), down from HK$99.3 million for the same period last year. This has been attributed mainly to the drop in mainland Chinese visitors to Hong Kong as well as the depreciation of the renminbi.
Most sales were made through consignment stores, reaching about $77.4 million and representing 81.2 per cent of total revenue. This was followed by sales from specialty stores at $15.5 million, or 16.3 per cent. The remaining 2.5 per cent, $2.4 million, was generated from other channels including online, Singapore sales by an exclusive distributor, and sales at trade fairs and exhibitions.
There was a $2 million loss attributable to equity owners of the company for the half-year, compared to a profit of about HK$1.6 million for the same period last year. If the listing expenses were excluded, the attributable profit would have been about $5.1 million.
Health supplements continued to be the group’s major category, amounting to $88.4 million and contributing about 92.8 per cent of total revenue. For the first time, personal-care products exceeded honey and pollen products to become the second main category with revenue of $3.6 million, about 3.8 per cent of total revenue. Honey and pollen products made up about 3.4 per cent of revenue at $3.3 million.
At the end of September the group had 13 specialty stores and more than 70 sales counters, the same as at the end of March.
Looking ahead, the group plans a strategic expansion of its network of self-run specialty stores, and also an extension of its consignment sales coverage. It will also seek opportunities to move into other areas of Asia, and continue to develop its eCommerce sales network.