Bauhaus falls into red in H1

By
Kam Leong

Hong Kong-listed clothing retailer Bauhaus International (Holdings) Ltd. posted a net loss of some HK$26.6 million (US$3.31 million) for the six months ended September 30 from a net profit of HK$20.9 million one year ago, driven by a drop in sales and gross profit.
For the six months, the companyÂ’s total revenues declined 8 per cent year-on-year to HK$585.4 million, as compared to HK$636.3 million for the same period last year. In addition, the companyÂ’s gross profit decreased by about 11.1 per cent to approximately HK$353.9 million during the period, according to its filing with Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday.
In terms of region, the retailer generated some HK$427.2 million in its major markets of Hong Kong and Macau during the period, down 7.6 per cent compared to HK$462.3 million one year ago. The company claims the segmentÂ’s sales account for 73 per cent of its total.
Profit before tax from the two cities plunged 57.2 per cent to HK$24.1 million for the period. In addition, Bauhaus said it had recorded a negative same-store-sales growth rate of some 7 per cent during the six months in the two Special Administrative Regions.
‘Retail performance in many sectors across the region deteriorated, possibly due to less spending by both inbound tourists and local citizens as a result of the growth slowdown in Mainland China, strong local currency, and volatile finance markets,’ it explained in the filing,
Meanwhile, the companyÂ’s business in Mainland China registered a slight year-on-year decrease of 1.9 per cent in turnover to HK$132.5 million although same store sales in the market grew some 4 per cent year-on-year.
‘The markets that the Group operates in will remain challenging, owing to such factors as the economic slowdown in Mainland China, appreciation of the US dollar, and lacklustre consumption sentiment,’ the retailer anticipates.