Vitamin maker Blackmores profit drops 14% on slow China demand
Vitamin maker Blackmores has reported a 14.3 per cent fall in net profit for the first nine months of 2018-19, as the company continues to grapple with softening demand from its largest Asian market, China.
Net profit attributable for the nine months to March 31 fell to $44.2 million, compared with $51.6 million in the same period a year ago.
The vitamin maker said the implementation of the new China e-commerce law during the March quarter resulted in lower "daigou" sales to Chinese consumers through Australian retailers.
Blackmores relies partly on online sales and informal exports from Chinese visitors shipping goods home from abroad, known as daigou, unlike other Australian exporters that use the direct approach.
The company said it would step up support of daigou to reflect the way Chinese consumers accessed Blackmores products.
Sydney-based Blackmores has been unable to protect its earnings from a slowdown in the world's No.2 economy, which led the company to issue a surprise profit warning in February, on the heels of which chief executive Richard Henfrey stepped down.
The firm, which reaches consumers in 17 markets, said revenue for the period rose 6 per cent to $460.1 million.
Reuters