Sa Sa International 0178

[winston]

not vested

No payout as Sa Sa narrows loss to $181m

by Yvonne Chung

Sa Sa International (0178) narrowed its net loss by 25 percent to HK$181 million for the six months ended September, with no interim dividend declared.

The cosmetics retailer said the challenging business and operating environment contributed to the decision of no interim dividend payout. The basic loss per share amounted to HK$5.9.

The company's continuing operations turnover climbed by 24.2 percent to HK$1.59 billion over the same period last year, while retail and wholesale turnover in Hong Kong and Macau surged by 26.9 percent to HK$1.08 billion.

Simon Kwok Siu-ming, Sa Sa chairman and chief executive, struck a more conservative attitude toward reopening the border with mainland China. He predicted that the company will not make a profit next year, but will have higher turnover in December and January next year.

The company had 233 stores as of September 30, 15 fewer compared to the same period last year. Ten of the closed stores were located in tourist districts in Hong Kong.

However, the store closures resulted in no noticeable loss of sales, as some physical store customers turned to shop online. Online business sales in Hong Kong grew 41.1 percent year-on-year to HK$58.4 million.

Kowk said five to eight retail stores are expected to be closed, especially those with excessively high rental costs or low contributions.

The company expects a net decrease of 15 to 18 in the total number of stores by March next year.

As for the mainland China market, Sa Sa will reduce the number of new stores opened to 80 in this fiscal year, a 20 percent decrease from its previous plan, which underestimated the impact of the pandemic.

Kwok admitted the retailer had wrongly judged that the epidemic had passed in the mainland at the beginning of the year and expanded the business and opened new stores in the mainland, which led to the widening of the loss in the first half of the year.

Source: The Standard

https://www.thestandard.com.hk/section- ... s-to-$181m

[winston]

not vested

No payout as Sa Sa narrows loss to $181m

by Yvonne Chung

Sa Sa International (0178) narrowed its net loss by 25 percent to HK$181 million for the six months ended September, with no interim dividend declared.

The cosmetics retailer said the challenging business and operating environment contributed to the decision of no interim dividend payout. The basic loss per share amounted to HK$5.9.

The company's continuing operations turnover climbed by 24.2 percent to HK$1.59 billion over the same period last year, while retail and wholesale turnover in Hong Kong and Macau surged by 26.9 percent to HK$1.08 billion.

Simon Kwok Siu-ming, Sa Sa chairman and chief executive, struck a more conservative attitude toward reopening the border with mainland China. He predicted that the company will not make a profit next year, but will have higher turnover in December and January next year.

The company had 233 stores as of September 30, 15 fewer compared to the same period last year. Ten of the closed stores were located in tourist districts in Hong Kong.

However, the store closures resulted in no noticeable loss of sales, as some physical store customers turned to shop online. Online business sales in Hong Kong grew 41.1 percent year-on-year to HK$58.4 million.

Kowk said five to eight retail stores are expected to be closed, especially those with excessively high rental costs or low contributions.

The company expects a net decrease of 15 to 18 in the total number of stores by March next year.

As for the mainland China market, Sa Sa will reduce the number of new stores opened to 80 in this fiscal year, a 20 percent decrease from its previous plan, which underestimated the impact of the pandemic.

Kwok admitted the retailer had wrongly judged that the epidemic had passed in the mainland at the beginning of the year and expanded the business and opened new stores in the mainland, which led to the widening of the loss in the first half of the year.

Source: The Standard

https://www.thestandard.com.hk/section- ... s-to-$181m

[winston]

not vested

Sales up as Sa Sa tightens its belt

by Aiden He

Sa Sa International (0178) posted a 22.6 percent year-on-year growth in same-store sales in Hong Kong last quarter mainly due to a low base effect and cuts in capacity and costs.

But year-on-year increase in sales slowed to 9.4 percent from 14.3 percent in the December quarter as many stores were temporarily closed and foot traffic decreased amid Covid, it said in a filing yesterday.

The overall turnover from its continuing operations in the quarter edged up by 1.9 percent to HK$834.3 million but was still 58.2 percent lower than the pre-pandemic level.

Source: The Standard

https://www.thestandard.com.hk/section- ... s-its-belt

[winston]

not vested

SA SA INT'L (00178.HK) Annual Loss Narrows to HK$344M, Nil Div

2022/06/30

SA SA INT'L (00178.HK) announced annual result for the year ended 31 March 2022.

The loss narrowed to HK$344 million from HK$351 million in the corresponding period of previous year.

LPS was HK11.1 cents.

No dividend was declared.

Source: AAStocks Financial News

[winston]

not vested

SA SA: HK Apr SSS Grows Almost 45%; Breakeven Hopeful in 2H22

Amid the stable retail market in Hong Kong, SA SA INT'L(00178.HK)'s HK SSS in April jumped almost 45% YoY, fueled by Phase I Consumption Voucher Scheme, said Chairman and CEO Kwok Siu Ming Simon.

Likewise in May, the HK SSS hiked almost 10%.

Asked whether the company is likely to turn loss into profit in the current FY, Kwok replied that his forecast is conservative now, in light of the epidemic situation in Macau.

Yet he hoped that the company could break even in 2H22 after the epidemic tapers off.

Related News - SA SA INT'L (00178.HK) Annual Loss Narrows to HK$344M, Nil Div

Source: AAStocks Financial News

[winston]

not vested

Sa Sa revenue dips

Sa Sa International (0178) recorded a 12 percent drop in revenue to HK$865 million in the last quarter from a year ago.

Sales fell by 59.2 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels but narrowed by 2.9 percentage points from the previous quarter.

Sales in Hong Kong and Macau fell by 6.9 percent to HK$576 million in the quarter ending December. The turnover in the mainland slumped 42.4 percent to HK$44.2 million over the same period.

Sa Sa said it has benefited from improving consumer sentiment after the easing of Covid restrictions in Hong Kong, which led to same-store sales in the city improving by 9.3 percent from a year earlier.

Source: The Standard

https://www.thestandard.com.hk/section- ... venue-dips

[winston]

not vested

Full FY23 results to release in Jun 2023

<News alert> Profit Alert suggests a stunning turnaround that beats market expectations
Sa Sa has just released a Profit Alert announcement, stating that based on its preliminary assessment, it is expecting an attributable profit of c.HK$50-70m for FY23 (i.e., 12 months ended Mar 2023).

The company incurred attributable losses of -HK$344m for FY22 and -HK$133m for 1H FY23 (i.e., 6 months ended Sep 2022). Its latest performance should translate into c.HK$183-203m attributable profits for 2H FY23 alone, showing a very encouraging trend.

Key reasons for the turnround included:
Cost structure optimization and gross margin expansion that resulted in a small net profit for 3Q FY23;
Sales growth in HK/Macau in 4Q FY23 following the border re-opening between HK and Mainland China; and
recognition of deferred tax asset in respect of prior years’ tax losses in HK/Macau of c.HK$81m following a return to profit, and anticipated utilization of these losses to offset against future taxable profits.

Full annual results announcement for FY23 will be published in Jun 2023.

On the back of rising tourist consumption in HK/Macau and a very lean cost structure now, we believe Sa Sa stays well on track for a swift earnings recovery, at least back to the FY16-17 level in the latest financial year of FY24 (i.e., 12 months ended Mar 2024).

We have been projecting earnings of HK$22m for FY23 (consensus: -HK$9m loss) and HK$323m for FY24 (consensus: HK$327m), while such numbers could still fall short of actual performance judging from the latest momentum.

We maintain BUY with TP of HK$2.29 (i.e., 36% upside from the current price level).

Source: DBS

https://www.dbs.com/insightsdirect/comp ... ecid=14188