“It is encouraging to see resilient demand momentum for our footwear products in the first half of the year, despite uncertainties caused by tariffs and other macroeconomic headwinds. We are on track to overcome the short-term operational challenges, implementing a strategic approach to secure our long-term steady and healthy growth, while enhancing the value-added capabilities of our manufacturing business”, commented Lu Chin Chu, Chairman of Yue Yuen.

First Half Results

In the first half of the 2025 financial year, the group’s revenue totalled 4.06 billion US dollars, an increase of 1.1% on a comparable basis to the same period of the last year.

During this period, the footwear manufacturing business (including athletic/outdoor shoes, casual shoes, and sports sandals) contributed 2.61 billion US dollars to Yue Yuen’s total revenue. This represents an 8.3% growth, as compared to the same period in 2024, reflecting a 5.0% increase in volume and a 3.2% increase in the average selling price – due to a higher-quality order mix.

The manufacturing business as a whole (including footwear, as well as soles, components and others) generated 2.80 billion US dollars in revenue during the period in question, reflecting a 6.2% increase, on a comparable basis to the first half of the previous year.

On the contrary, the group’s retail business, Pou Sheng, saw its revenue fall by 8.6% to 1.26 billion US dollars in the first half of the year, as compared to the same period in 2024. This was due to overall sales being affected by volatile foot traffic in mainland China, with substantial year-on-year declines in offline retail and sub-distributor channels.

In the first half of this year, Yue Yuen's gross profit margin decreased by 1.7 percentage points from the same period last year, falling to 22.6%. The gross profit margin of the manufacturing business also fell year-on-year, by 1.4 percentage points, to 17.7%.

“This decrease was mainly attributed to uneven production levelling across various manufacturing plants, the production efficiency of some production lines that fell short of set targets, as well as higher labour costs stemming with expanding labour force and rising wages across various regions”, explained Yue Yuen in a statement.

Despite its efforts to optimise its inventory mix and sales structure, Pou Sheng’s first half gross margin contracted by 0.7 percentage points to 33.5%, due to aggressive promotions and increased average markdowns across the retail industry.

Yue Yuen reported a 7.2% decline in profit attributable to owners of the company in the first half of 2025, as compared to the same period the prior year, bringing it down to 171.2 million US dollars.

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