The Yue Yuen group recorded revenue of 2.49 billion US dollars in the three months ended on the 31^st of March 2021, representing an increase of 26.6% compared to revenue of 1.97 billion US in the same period of 2020. The increase in revenue was attributable to increased orders amidst the ongoing recovery of global demand for the group’s products and an increase in production efficiency, on top of a low-base effect due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

In the three months ended on the 31^st of March 2021, revenue attributable to the footwear manufacturing activity (including athletic/outdoor shoes, casual shoes and sports sandals) increased by 3.9% to 1.21 billion US dollars, compared with the same period of last year.

Although benefiting strongly from demand recovery, the volume of shoes shipped during the period decreased by 4.5% to 68.3 million pairs, a result of the Group’s efforts to refine and optimize its capacity and product mix.

The group’s total revenue with respect to the manufacturing business (including footwear, as well as soles, components and others) during the period was 1.37 billion US dollars, representing an increase of 8.3% as compared with the same period of last year. While all categories experienced consumer-led recovery during the period, the increase in overall manufacturing  revenue was driven by the exceptional growth of the group’s Soles, Components & Others category, which grew 64.3% year-on-year.

During the period, revenue attributable to Pou Sheng, the group’s retail subsidiary, increased by 59.3% to 1.13 billion US dollars, compared to 708.1 million US dollars in the same period of last year.

During the period, the group’s gross profit increased by 52.7% to 635.2 million US dollars. The gross profit of the manufacturing business increased by 25.2% to 248.1 million US dollars whilst the gross profit margin expanded by 2.5 percentage points to 18.2%, as compared to the same period in 2020, mainly driven by a "higher order fill rate and a more balanced capacity utilization of around 87%", which increased operational efficiency. The gross profit margin for Pou Sheng during the period increased nicely by 3.6 percentage points to 34.3% as compared to the same period in 2020, mainly attributed to enhanced sales mix. Gross profit margins for both of the overall Group and Pou Sheng also saw sequential improvement during the first quarter of 2021, as compared to the last quarter of 2020.