12 Chinese listed apparel companies show momentum of recovery in 2023

Recently, listed apparel companies released their performance for 2023. In the process of adjusting epidemic prevention policies and rebooting the economy, those enterprises delivered their answers amidst a chorus of recovery. How is the actual operation? How are the profits? This article selects 12 major listed companies as samples to understand their latest trends.

In 2023, HLA had the highest operating income of around 21.528 billion yuan, an increase of about 15.98% year-on-year. Youngor and Semir ranked second and third, with operating incomes of 13.749 billion yuan and 13.661 billion yuan respectively, a decrease of 7.23% and an increase of 2.48% year-on-year. Meters/bonwe and GRN ranked last, with revenues of 1.356 billion yuan and 1.244 billion yuan respectively, down by 5.77% and 40.98% year-on-year.

The 12 companies achieved a total revenue of 81.474 billion yuan in 2023, an increase of 4.59% year-on-year. Looking at the growth rate, seven companies saw year-on-year growth, while five companies including Youngor, PEACEBIRD, Hodo, Meters/bonwe, and GRN saw a year-on-year decline. Among them, GRN saw the largest decrease, while LANCY saw the largest increase.

The net profit of Youngor was the highest at 3.434 billion yuan, a year on year decline of 32.31%, which was followed by HLA and Semir whose net profit was respectively 2.952 billion yuan and 1.122 billion yuan, up 36.98% and 76.14% year on year. Hodo and GRN ranked the last with net profit of respectively 30 million yuan and -591 million yuan. The net profit of GRN was negative, while that of the rest 11 companies was all positive.

In terms of non-recurring net profit (net profit excluding non-recurring gains and losses), Youngor had the highest at about 3.185 billion yuan, a decrease of 32.4% year-on-year. HLA and Semir ranked second and third at 2.71 billion yuan and 1.021 billion yuan respectively, an increase of 30.6% and 105.4% year-on-year. Meters/bonwe and GRN ranked last with approximately -445 million yuan and -607 million yuan respectively, an increase of about 46.7% and a decrease of 974.76% year-on-year.

The total net profit of the 12 companies in 2023 was 8.891 billion yuan, an increase of 14% year-on-year. GRN had a net loss, while the remaining 11 companies were all profitable. In terms of non-recurring net profit, the total for the 12 companies in 2023 was 7.475 billion yuan, an increase of 6.2% year-on-year. Meters/bonwe and GRN were the only two companies with losses, while the remaining 10 companies were profitable.

In terms of inventory turnover days, Youngor ranked first with 764.82 days, followed by ELLASSAY and JOEONE with 329.73 days and 287.06 days respectively. Hodo had the lowest at 58.08 days. The average inventory turnover days for the 12 companies was 255.4 days, a decrease of about 7.4% year-on-year. Lower inventory turnover days generally indicate lower occupancy rate of funds by inventory, and relatively strong product liquidity.

In terms of asset-liability ratio (total liabilities/total assets*100%), Meters/bonwe had the highest, at 83.4%, followed by HLA and Youngor, with 52.43% and 50.97% respectively. JOEONE had the lowest liability ratio at 32.86%. The average asset-liability ratio for the 12 companies was 45.48%, a decrease of about 3.3% year-on-year. Generally, a lower asset-liability ratio indicates relatively strong debt repayment ability, but it is not necessarily the lower, the better. Most believe that controlling it within 40-60% is the most conducive standard for corporate development.

In summary, looking at the 12 listed apparel companies in 2023, the operating conditions of the vast majority of enterprises are relatively good. Except for Meters/bonwe's high asset-liability ratio, the asset-liability ratios of the other 11 companies are basically in the range of 32-52%. Inventory turnover days are mainly between 130-300 days. Meters/bonwe and GRN had losses in non-recurring net profit (GRN announced that its stock was delisted, and it was delisted on March 29), while the remaining 10 companies were all profitable. The increase in the total revenue of the 12 companies was more than that in 2022, and the average increases in net profit and non-recurring net profit were higher than in 2022, but weaker than in 2021, indicating that overall, they are still in a state of weak recovery, but the momentum of recovery growth is evident.