A “significant” drop in Bossini profit attributable to its owners is expected for the year to the end of June.

Its board says the group expects only a small profit close to breakeven, compared to the profit attributable to the owners of HK$292 million (US$37 million) for the previous year.

It says reasons for the decrease include a non-recurring gain of about $265 million on the disposal of property in the previous year, and a drop of about 13 per cent in revenue from the $2 billion of the previous year, attributable to continuously weak consumer sentiment and “severe competition” in core markets.

This information is based on a preliminary assessment only, says Bossini, with its audited annual results to be announced in late September.