The consolidated turnover for the year ended 31 March 2021 decreased by 9.1% to HK$2,648.6 million as compared with that for the same period last year. Profit from operations increased by 1,388.3% year-on-year to HK$49.4 million.  Same-store sales growth of 13.3% was recorded in Mainland China whereas negative samestore sales of 39.0% was recorded in Hong Kong and Macau. Loss attributable to owners of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2021 was HK$44.0 million, reduced by 51.0% as compared to the previous financial year. 

During the Year, the ever-evolving COVID-19 pandemic continued to challenge governments, business and society generally as each scrambled to try to find acceptable solutions and to balance between these in order to address the numerous health and financial impacts of the same. International travel came to a standstill with many countries closing their borders and/or imposing severe entry restrictions and quarantine rules and enacting a large range of social distancing measures all of which have severely dampened consumer sentiment.

Fortunately, Mainland China was one of the first to start to emerge from the pandemic since mid-2020 when it reopened its factories, stores and restaurants resulting in a rebound in its economy. Under the stimulus of the easing of border restrictions that brought visitors back to Macau, our business in Macau was on a track of recovery since September 2020.

Hong Kong & Macau

Both Hong Kong’s and Macau’s retail sectors rely heavily on tourist footfall and spending. The absence of tourists due to COVID-19, coupled with the year-long containment measures and the postponement or cancellation of weddings, have led to weak consumer sentiment and domestic demand for fine jewelry, which in turn caused the Group’s sales in Hong Kong and Macau to plummet. The demand for gold jewelry was also affected by gold price fluctuations, which surged in the first half of 2020 but then slowly fell with a solid support. Discount-based promotions have improved the Group’s sales slump since September 2020 with a slight increase of 4.5% in the average amount per invoice. During the Year, the turnover of our Hong Kong and Macau retail businesses decreased by 50.2% with negative same-store sales of 39.0%

Mainland China

On the bright side, the COVID-19 outbreak has been brought under control in Mainland China and China’s economy is recovering with good progress. The Group’s sales performance in Mainland China has returned to almost pre-pandemic level since summer 2020 and has gradually regained growth momentum. A year-on-year increase of 3.9% in the turnover of the Group’s self-operated stores with same-store sales growth of 13.3% in Mainland China were recorded, such encouraging sales rebound partly offset the Group’s loss during the Year. The Group will grasp the opportunity arising from the increasing spending power of the younger generation to rejuvenate our business presence among firstand second-tier cities in China.