25 Jun 2024

Sa Sa announced March-ended FY24 results, with revenue increased by 24.8% YoY to HK$4,367m, driven by the YoY growth of 31%/10% in the HK & Macau/Mainland China business to HK$3,410m/ HK$581m, partially offset by the 1.7% YoY sales decline in SEA. Breaking down the business in HK/Macau, offline sales was up by 35.1% YoY to HK$3,207m, thanks to the reopening of the borders in early 2023, with a strong return of tourism in both HK and Macau. 2HFY24 recorded a mid-DD YoY growth, which dropped a bit from the high-DD YoY growth in 1HFY24, as 4QFY24 sales was impacted by local resident departures to Mainland China and reduced Mainland Chinese tourist numbers post CNY. As for online sales of HK & Macau rose, it dropped by 8.3% YoY to HK$202m as consumers switched back from online to physical shopping experience post pandemic, resulted in its online penetration rate in HK & Macau to drop from 8.9% in FY23 to 5.9% in FY24, yet still much higher than the pre-pandemic levels of 0.1%. For Mainland China business, offline sales declined by 22.9% YoY to HK$166m in FY24 mainly due to the closure of 5 store during the period (end of FY24: 32 stores operating). Yet, the company has managed to recover to 61.7% of pre-pandemic levels despite operating 22 or 40.7% fewer stores. Sa Sa is also growing its brand portfolio and launched a Korea brand “Eoyunggam” during the period. Online sales saw a significant growth of 36.3% YoY to HK$415m, as the company strengthened its presence in online social platforms such as Xiaohongshu, and also re-introduced halted products during pandemic such as fragrance. For SEA, the company recorded a slight sales drop of 1.7% YoY in FY24. The total number of stores declined slightly from 70 by end-FY23 to 69 by end-FY24

CROSBY Research – Sa Sa International (178 HK): Back to profitability, with adj NP recorded HK$218m in FY24