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Li Ning
Business

Chinese athletic brand Li Ning reports jump in profit for 2021, says Covid-19 outbreaks were limiting growth

  • Company reports an almost 1.4 times jump in net profit for the year ended 31 December, 2021
  • Repeated pandemic outbreaks in various regions of China have brought about uncertainty, joint CEO says

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A Li Ning store in Shanghai. The company’s board has recommended the payment of a final dividend of 45.97 fen per ordinary share. Photo: Bloomberg
Lam Ka-sing
Li Ning, one of China’s largest athletic brands named after the triple-gold Olympic gymnast, said on Friday that the country’s recent Covid-19 outbreaks were adversely affecting sales.
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Sales growth had narrowed from 35 to 40 per cent earlier in the first quarter to 15-20 per cent this week, Terence Tsang Wah-fung, the company’s chief financial officer, said during a results briefing. Revenue growth and profit margin for 2022 were expected to be 15 to 25 per cent and 15 to 20 per cent, respectively, he added.

“Since the beginning of this month, some repeated pandemic outbreaks in various regions of the country have brought about uncertainty to our business,” said Kosaka Takeshi, the company’s joint CEO who is also called Qian Wei.

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The company did well last year and attributed the higher sales to China’s effective pandemic prevention and control policies, higher sports awareness amid the Tokyo Olympic Games and then the Beijing Winter Olympics, and increasing recognition and support for domestic sports brands among Chinese consumers.

Li Ning reported an almost 1.4 times jump in net profit to 4.01 billion yuan (US$630.63 million) for the year ended 31 December, 2021. The board has recommended the payment of a final dividend of 45.97 fen per ordinary share.

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