Pou Sheng International (Holdings) Limited of Hong Kong notified its shareholders that it expects to record a loss in its unaudited consolidated results for the six months ended 31 March 2012 as compared with a profit reported for the comparable period in 2011.
The company, which is one of the top sporting goods retailers in the People’s Republic of China, attributed the anticipated loss to: a decrease in profit due to the Dec. 31, 2011 expiration of the Group’s exclusive distributor arrangement for Converse products in the People’s Republic of China; increases in selling and distribution expenses, in particular, staff costs, rental and concession expenses; higher sales discount being offered due to in an effort to reduce excess inventory which has accumulated over time; and “less gain on deemed disposal of different jointly controlled entities.”
Pou Sheng is expected to release its audited interim results for the six months ended March 31 next month.
Controlled by the family of Taiwan billionaire Tsai Chi Jui, Pou Sheng was spun off as a public company on the Taiwan Stock Exchange in 2008 in a bid to tap that market in the wake of the Summer Olympics in Beijing. Pou Sheng and its regional joint ventures together operates a total of over 3,200 retail outlets in the PRC, and is the largest sportswear retailer in the PRC based on the number of directly operated retail outlets. Pou Sheng, along with its regional joint ventures, has a presence in most of the major cities across 26 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, and is one of the top three sportswear retailers in the PRC
