China sportswear profit drops 30.6% for the first quarter

China Sports International on Monday posted a 30.6 per cent drop in net profit to 8.87 million yuan (S$1.89 million) for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015, from 12.78 million yuan in the year-ago period.

Revenue for the quarter fell 43.6 per cent, to 103.5 million yuan from 183.47 million yuan in Q1 2014, on lower sales of footwear and apparel products, which were mainly attributable to the "persistent and increasing competition in the sportswear industry", said the mainboard-listed company.

Earnings per share slipped from 1.33 RMB cents to 0.92 RMB cent for the quarter. No dividend has been announced for the period.

"China's sportswear industry as a whole has been facing challenges stemming from excessive inventory and over-expanded retail channels over the past few years. Despite measures taken by industry players in de-stocking and network consolidation, the worst is not over for the industry due to the poor economic outlook in China," said the company.