Revenue growth of 3.9 per cent saw first-half revenue hit US$4.4 billion for Yue Yuen Industrial (Holdings).

Profit attributable to the owners of the group grew by 4 per cent year on year to $258.5 million for the six months to the end of June.

Ye Yuen’s main business categories are making and selling footwear products plus the retail and distribution of sportswear and apparel products, including leasing large-scale commercial spaces to retailers and distributors. It is the largest manufacturer of athletic and casual/outdoor footwear for international brand companies, and runs one of the largest footwear and apparel retail networks. It also provides sport services across Greater China, which continues to be a key growth market for major international sporting and lifestyle brands.

Its footwear manufacturing revenue recorded a mild decline of 0.7 per cent to $2.9 billion during the first half, with sales volumes dropping 1.6 per cent. However, the group’s manufacturing gross profit grew from $607.9 million to $622.9 million with a gross profit margin of 20.8 per cent.

Vietnam, Indonesia and China continued to be the group’s main production locations by volume, representing 46, 35 and 17 per cent of total shoe production respectively.

Athletic shoes accounted for 46.6 per cent of revenue, followed by casual/outdoor shoes at 12.8 per cent. Athletic shoes were also the main manufacturing category, accounting for 77.1 per cent of revenue, followed by casual/outdoor shoes at 21.2 per cent.

The group’s retail business grew by 15 per cent to $1.4 billion. The group’s main retail subsidiary, Pou Sheng, derives sales primarily from retail omni-channels and a sport services platform covering major cities in Greater China.

At June 30, the group had 5464 directly run counters/stores and 3036 stores run by sub-distributors in Greater China. It had about about 360,000 employees globally.