Wumart Stores, Beijing's largest supermarket chain, said third-quarter profit leapt 53.2 per cent, driven by purchases of stakes in two retail store operators this year, higher same-store sales and the opening of new outlets.
Net profit for the three months to September reached 55.34 million yuan, up from 36.12 million yuan a year earlier, the company said yesterday.
Turnover rose 54.1 per cent to 1.46 billion yuan from 947 million yuan.
Although much of the sales growth came from acquisitions and new store openings, revenue from existing stores grew 8.4 per cent as China's booming economy put more money into consumers' pockets.
Gross margins, which are always tight in the food business, slipped to 17.9 per cent from 18.1 per cent a year ago.
The acquisitions were not fully reflected in the third-quarter results, with one, Mei Lian Mei, contributing only to September's figures, Xu Ying, a finance director at Wumart, said in a teleconference yesterday.
The other, Yichuan Xinhua Department Store, contributed to August and September profits, Mr Xu said.