HONG KONG: Shares in mainland sportswear maker and distributor 361 Degrees International leaped 18.7 percent yesterday, after the company posted a 2.5-fold surge in its full-year net earnings.

The company's net profits for the twelve months ended June 30 jumped to 632.1 million yuan from 179 million yuan, while its revenue also soared 161.7 percent to 3.45 billion yuan.

For the fiscal year 2009, the company will distribute a final dividend of 7.4 Hong Kong cents per share to its existing shareholders.

Vice President Xia Youqun said the company has opened 1,400 more new shops in the previous fiscal year, boosting its full-year revenue to record a significant jump.

"In the foreseeable future, we expect to add 600 to 800 more retail outlets each year," Xia told reporters in Hong Kong yesterday, "That will maintain 30 percent growth in our revenue."

By the end of June, the Fujian-based sportswear retailer operated 6,055 authorized retail outlets in 31 provinces across the mainland.

Xia said 361 Degrees has planned to open more shops in second- or third-tier mainland cities, as competition in the first-tier market begins to intensify.

"We hope to maintain a balanced growth in the second, third and fourth-tier markets," Xia said, adding that the company will further expand in cities like Chongqing, Hangzhou and Xi'an.

Shares in 361 Degrees yesterday finished up 18.69 percent, or HK$0.63, at HK$4, moving against the benchmark Hang Seng Index, which fell 0.49 percent, or 105.62 points, to close at 21,595.52.

361 Degrees has raised HK$1.91 billion from its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) in June, selling around 25 percent of its stake.

Benefiting from the recent upsurge in IPO activities, the company's global offering of 500 million shares was oversubscribed. The sportswear retailer afterwards added an additional 150 million-share offering in Hong Kong and 350 million allocated overseas.

Chief financial officer Virginia Choi said the company will spend 49.8 percent of its net proceeds, or around 950 million yuan, this year to develop and increase brand awareness, as well as to expand production facilities.

She added that the company has achieved 10 percent growth in the average selling price of its products and a 20 percent jump in sales volume from July to September 2009.

(HK Edition 09/24/2009 page3)