Hong Kong headquartered retail group Dairy Farm International has released its first-half results for the 2017 financial year, with underlying profits up 6 per cent to US$211m.
Strong performances from its Yonghui and Maxim’s operations offset lower sales in Dairy Farm’s supermarket and hypermarket operations, with total sales coming in slightly under its 2016 results at US$5.5bn in the six months to 30 June.
“While the outlook for the remainder of the year is expected to remain challenging for the supermarket and hypermarket activities in Southeast Asia, the Group’s other businesses continue to make steady progress,” Dairy Farm chairman Ben Keswick said in a statement released 3 August.
Sales at its supermarkets and hypermarkets were 3 per cent lower compared to the same period a year prior, with the group citing difficult trading conditions in Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan.
Dairy Farm’s Yonghui operations in China saw a 15 per cent growth in revenue and 57 per cent increase in profit due to a higher number of stores combined with more effective merchandising.
It’s convenience operations also saw performed well in Hong Kong and Macau, driven by increased tourist numbers to those destinations, while Dairy Farm’s convenience store sales in Singapore dropped as stores were closed.
