On August 16, the sports brand Li - Ning announced its interim results for the six months ended June 30, 2024. Regarding "steadiness" as the main theme of development, Li - Ning achieved good "results" in the first half of 2024: the running category became the category with the highest growth rate in revenue, with a year - on - year increase of 25%; the revenue of Li - Ning's shoe business has reached 7.84 billion yuan, about 3.6 times that of the same period in 2018...
While focusing on "running", Li - Ning is growing into a "versatile warrior", frequently making moves in the three major markets of women's, outdoor, and youth. In the view of Qian Wei, co - CEO of Li - Ning Group, the pursuit of sports demand and sports performance has always been the core driving force for Li - Ning's growth.
"Results" Meet Expectations
On August 16, the financial report showed that in the first half of 2024, Li - Ning's overall performance was stable and developed pragmatically.
During the reporting period, Li - Ning's revenue reached 14.345 billion yuan, an increase of 2.3% compared with the same period in 2023. The gross profit increased by 5.8% to 7.236 billion yuan compared with 6.839 billion yuan in the same period in 2023; Li - Ning's overall gross profit margin was 50.4%, an increase of 1.6 percentage points compared with the same period last year (the first half of 2023: 48.8%). The basic earnings per share were 75.80 cents (the first half of 2023: 80.63 cents).
Regarding the growth of revenue and gross profit margin in the first half of 2024, Li - Ning attributes it to the "steady" development tone.
"Our core this year is not to focus on scale growth as the main goal. When we reported to everyone at the beginning of the year, we also mentioned that'steady operation and pragmatic development' is our guiding ideology. Therefore, stable operation and risk control are the tones of our business throughout the year. On this premise, estimating the change in revenue scale and effectively and strongly controlling expenses to ensure profits is the main axis of our business in the first half of the year," Qian Wei said at the performance press conference.
In fact, in the view of industry insiders, the market environment in the first half of 2024 provided both development opportunities and growth pressures for Li - Ning.
In the first half of 2024, against the backdrop of China's economic recovery and the continuous improvement of national health awareness, Li - Ning, with sports technology as the main development line, is "showing its capabilities". Currently, relying on the brand's professional sports genes, Li - Ning has constructed five core categories: running, basketball, fitness, badminton, and sports life based on insights into the industry and sports categories. During the reporting period, the core business strategy of "single - brand, multi - category, multi - channel" provided the foundation for the stable overall performance of Li - Ning.
On the other hand, Li - Ning is also facing the market trend under consumption downgrade. "Overall, consumers are becoming more and more cautious or prudent in shopping, so it brings challenges to the offline revenue growth of the industry as a whole. In this context, how to ensure the healthy and stable operation of the enterprise and how to face the resulting revenue pressure pose higher requirements for the team," Qian Wei believes.
It is worth noting that Li - Ning's technological strength is also being demonstrated on the sports field. At the just - passed Paris Olympics, the Chinese national table tennis team, the Chinese national diving team, and the Chinese national shooting team, with which Li - Ning has long - term cooperation, won 18 of the 40 gold medals for the Chinese delegation. In Qian Wei's view, Li - Ning's products have been verified in top - level sports arenas and multiple professional sports events, which also strengthen Li - Ning's "professional sports" route.
This article comes from the creator of Tencent News Client.
