Yue Yuen Industrial saw its turnover move up by 6.7 percent to $6,718.0 million for the nine months until the end of September, driven by an increase in sales of athletic shoes and the group's retail business.

The group reported that its sales of athletic shoes jumped by 3.0 percent to $3,101.9 million for the period, while they dwindled by 3.5 percent for casual and outdoor footwear to $885.2 million, and by 13.6 percent to $57.7 million for sports sandals. The turnover of the entire footwear manufacturing division was up by 1.5 percent, implying an increase in average prices, since the volume sold moved up by 1.1 percent to 238.7 million. Sales of soles, components and other products went up by 3.8 percent to $471.7 million.

Yue Yuen's retail business, which includes Pou Sheng, raised its sales by 19.4 percent to $2,201.5 million for the nine months. Pou Sheng alone reported a sales rise of 14.1 percent in yuan renminbi, to RMB 13,883.3 million (€1,770.1m-$2,096.4m).

Yue Yuen's gross profit advanced by 9.2 percent to $1,705.3 million. This included an increase of 3.6 percent to $934.7 million for the manufacturing business involving leading international brands, amounting to a gross profit margin of 20.7 percent. Yue Yuen attributed the improvement to more efficient operations, after direct labor cost savings. Due to increased store sales, the gross profit at Pou Sheng improved by 6.3 percent to $701.9 million, which translates into a 10.2 percent increase to RMB 4,796.6 million (€611.4m-$724.3m).

Rising staff costs in the retail business were identified as the most important factor for an increase in selling and distribution expenses for the nine months. They amounted to 10.5 percent of sales, compared with 9.4 percent in the year-ago period. Pou Sheng's selling and distribution costs jumped by 19.5 percent in yuan renminbi.

Yue Yuen ended up with profit attributable to shareholders of $395.9 million, equivalent to a profit margin of nearly 5.9 percent, down from just over 6.0 percent for the same nine months in 2016. Recurring profit attributable to shareholders grew by 4 percent to $375.0 million