Chinese motion upholstery producer Man Wah Holdings said its U.S. sales rose 13.4% in the six months ended Sept. 30, as gradually improving economic conditions helped the company continue to gain market share.
In a report filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Man Wah said U.S. sales totaled $1.49 billion Hong Kong dollars, or about $192.2 million. That was up from $1.31 billion Hong Kong dollars, or about $169.6 million, in the six months ended Sept. 30, 2012.
The company said motion sofas using a leather-like fabric cover called Leath-Aire were the most popular among the more than 100 models that were introduced during the reporting period, which is the first half of Man Wah's fiscal year.
Sales in North America, which included Canadian sales of about $15.9 million (123.6 million Hong Kong dollars) accounted for 56.4% of the company's worldwide sales. China was its next largest market, accounting for 28.1% of sales, while sales in Europe and other countries made up the remaining 15.9%.
China was the company's fastest-growing market, however, registering a 28.1% sales increase. Nearly all of Man Wah's sales in China are made through a network of 1,059 company-owned and licensed retail stores that operate under the Cheers, Enlanda and Morewell names.
Worldwide sales for the six-month period totaled 2.88 billion Hong Kong dollars, or about $372 million. That was an increase of 20.1% from 2.4 billion Hong Kong dollars, or about $309.7 million, in the comparable period last year.
Net income was 556.9 million Hong Kong dollars, or about $71.8 million. That figure included income from foreign currency exchange contracts of 106 million Hong Kong dollars.
In the first half of the previous fiscal year, net income was 198.1 million Hong Kong dollars, or about $25.5 million.
