By Kimberley Kao
Luggage maker Samsonite reported a rise in quarterly profit and sales, driven by a continued rebound in leisure and business travel, particularly in Asia.
The world's largest luggage maker said late Tuesday that net sales for the first quarter rose 0.9% from a year earlier to $859.9 million, driven primarily by Asia. Net profit grew 12% to $82.9 million, it said.
Gross profit margin expanded to 60.4% in the first quarter from 58.0% a year ago, driven by margin improvements in all regions, and the direct-to-consumer channel contributing an increased share of net sales.
China, Japan and South Korea saw strong net sales growth as travel grew in the first quarter, Chief Executive Kyle Gendreau said in a release. Demand in China, in particular, rose during the Lunar New Year holiday.
"This growth helped solidify our view that there are substantial opportunities for expansion in China," Gendreau said.
The Hong Kong-listed company also said that advisors have been hired to begin preparing for its secondary listing of shares. "The process is at an early stage," it said. It was reported in March that Samsonite was looking at the U.S. for its dual-listing plans.
"Looking ahead, growth in global travel and tourism is expected to remain healthy throughout 2024," it said, adding that it expects to "deliver fundamentally higher profitability," this year.
The Hong Kong stock exchange is closed for a public holiday.
Write to Kimberley Kao at kimberley.kao@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 14, 2024 23:35 ET (03:35 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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