On an upswing: OSIM reaps 12% profit increase

Luxury tea is becoming more popular.

Challenging retail conditions in Singapore and Malaysia compounded with the World Cup season did not deter OSIM International from gaining more income as revenue from North Asia rose, with GNC Taiwan’s 45 stores increasing profitability as it scales up its operations.

A report by RHB shows that OSIM registered PATMI of $29.5 million for 2Q14 and $58.4 million for 1H14, the former a 13% increase from last year. Revenue for the quarter rose 10.4% year on year.

RHB says that the company has a strong line-up of new product launches this year including uBuddy (an office massage chair) and uSqueeze (a new leg massager). These new products could potentially enable OSIM to tap into a new market. OSIM will also be launching a natural painkiller, LAC Panabloc, for its nutrition business.

Here’s more from RHB:

Management targets to open another 12 TWG tea outlets in 2H14, bringing the total store count to 45. The company is also creating new lines of Chinese luxury teas to tap into the North Asia market. While this could escalate topline growth, we expect TWG Tea’s contribution to the bottomline to be more visible in FY15F as it has incurred country start-up costs in FY14.