China's duty-free giant reports profit growth

Consumers pay bills at the Sanya CDF Mall, a duty-free shopping center under China Tourism Group, in Sanya, Hainan province, on April 20, 2020. [Photo provided to China Daily]

BEIJING - China Tourism Group Duty Free Corporation Limited, the country's largest operator of duty-free stores, reported growth in both revenue and profits in the third quarter (Q3) despite COVID-19 shocks.

The state-owned giant in Q3 raked in total operating revenue of 15.83 billion yuan ($2.35 billion), up 38.97 percent from a year ago, according to a statement filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

During the same period, the company's total profit surged 105.06 percent year on year to 3.04 billion yuan, said the statement.

Its net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies in Q3 came in at 2.23 billion yuan, up 141.9 percent from the same period of last year.

The company, also the parent of the China Duty Free Group, attributed the booming performance to the implementation of new offshore duty-free policies introduced in the island province of Hainan.

Amid the country's effective measures of epidemic prevention and control, the company seized the opportunities and saw its main business continue to improve, said the statement.

Shares of the company edged up by 0.3 percent to close at 203.43 yuan apiece Friday.