Hong Kong-listed China Vanguard Group Ltd, a company providing lottery-related services to the mainland China market, announced on Thursday it posted a net profit attributable to the equity holders of HKD3.5 million (US$451,317) for the three months ended September 30.
That was a significant improvement compared to a loss of HKD6.8 million a year earlier.
China Vanguard reported revenue of HKD19.9 million for the third quarter of 2014, up 63.2 percent from the prior year period.
“The increase in revenue was predominantly due to increased revenue from the lottery-related business,” the firm said in a filing.
Selling and distribution costs and administrative expenses in the period grew by 25 percent year-on-year to HKD20.2 million. The group posted an operating loss of HKD819,000, an improvement on the HKD4.1 million a year earlier.
China Vanguard’s lottery business covered 19 provinces and regions of mainland China as of September 30, including three additional provincial contracts in Shangdong, Hebei and Guizhou, the company said.
Total lottery sales in mainland China reached RMB279.41 billion (US$45.6 billion) during the first nine months of the year, according to official data.
During the third quarter, China Vanguard paid RMB17.5 million for Trans Pacific Associates Ltd, a company that provides interactive electronic marketing and an administrative platform to lottery centres in mainland China. “We expect to see a further expansion of the group’s business into providing value-add service to China’s lottery industry,” the firm said.
China Vanguard last week proposed a share subdivision plan in a bid to attract more investors and widen its shareholder base.
