AS Watson, the owner of chains such as Superdrug, Savers, The Perfume Shop, and Rossmann, saw total revenue across its 16,548 stores in 28 markets increase by 3% to HK$91.47bn (£9.08bn) during the half year to 30 June 2024, with EBITDA remaining flat at HK$7.09 (£0.70bn).
The group noted that apart from non-ASEAN Asia regions, most of its operations performed well and continued to achieve or exceed pre-pandemic levels.
AS Watson’s main health & beauty division, which accounts for 88% of group revenue, reported total sales in local currencies up 6%, with like-for-like growth of 5%. The segment’s EBITDA improved by 6%.
Its operations in Europe continued to perform well, with a 16% increase in EBITDA driven by strong sales performance in the UK, Poland, Germany and Benelux countries.
Meanwhile, its health & beauty business in Asia reported an 11% increase in EBITDA, driven by steady sales growth in its major markets in the ASEAN region. This performance was partly offset by weak trading in China, where like-for-like sales declined by 19%.
Looking at the second half of the year, AS Watson said: “Our businesses in European and ASEAN Asia countries should maintain momentum in achieving solid results while various initiatives are being implemented to improve the performance of the Asian operations in non-ASEAN markets. The division will strive to enhance profitability and maintain short payback on store openings through effective efficiencies planning, as well as strengthening its customer engagement with its substantial customer base of 164 million loyalty members.”
Accounts filed for Superdrug last month show it delivered strong sales and profit growth in 2023, driven by store expansion, increased sales volumes, and continued own-label growth.
