Parkson Retail Asia

Parkson Retail Asia: Muted set of 3Q13 results. 3Q13 rev at $109m, +2.3% y/y and net profit at $9.8m, +1.3% y/y. Result brings 9M13 rev to $345m, +3.9% and net profit to $34.6m, -5.4%. The shift in the Chinese New Year and Tet calendars contributed to a slightly stronger top-line during the quarter, which pushed the festive retail buying to 3QFY13. The stronger performance for the quarter was also achieved in spite of the weak consumer sentiment in Vietnam due to the economic slowdown there. Going forward, the Group is scheduled to open six new stores in FY13 across Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Myanmar, of which two of these stores were opened in Nov12 at Plaza Merdeka, Kuching in Malaysia and at Solo Paragon, Surakarta in Indonesia. Overall, remain optimistic that the positive growth recorded in this qtr will continue for the remaining quarter of the yr and is looking forward to its new store openings in Indonesia and Myanmar.