Hong Kong jeweller Luk Fook says H1 profit likely fell as much as 40 pct

Luk Fook Holdings (International) Ltd on Thursday said first-half profit likely fell as much as 40 percent due to declines in both revenue and margins, making it the second Hong Kong jewellery retailer this week to flag a drop in earnings.

Higher rents also contributed to the decline, Chairman Wong Wai-sheung said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Two days earlier, bigger rival Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd said April-September profit as much as halved due to subdued consumer spending in Hong Kong and Macau.

Retail sales in Hong Kong fell in September for a seventh consecutive month amid a drop in tourists from mainland China and weak consumer sentiment exacerbated by a volatile stock market.

Sales of jewellery, watches, clocks and valuable gifts fell 22.9 percent in September from a year earlier on a value basis in the steepest percentage decline since June 2014. Total tourist arrivals in the month fell 4 percent.

Luk Fook, which posted first-half profit of HK$804.6 million ($103.82 million) last year, is scheduled to announce earnings on Nov. 26.

Shares of Luk Fook ended ahead of the profit warning, down 1.2 percent at their lowest close since Oct. 22. In contrast, the benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 2.4 percent.

$1 = 7.7499 Hong Kong dollars