Tsann Kuen Group sales last year surged 85 percent

Tsann Kuen Group (燦坤), the nation's largest electronics chain store in terms of sales, reported revenues of NT$23.2 billion last year, 85 percent up from the previous year.

The company saw after-tax net profits of NT$974 million, or NT$4.53 per share, according to figures released at a shareholders' meeting yesterday.

Speaking at the six-hour event, chairman Wu Tsann-kuen (吳燦坤) said the group expects to boost sales by 60 percent from NT$19.8 billion to NT$32 billion by the end of this year.

Including its revenues from China, the company expects sales to reach NT$65 billion this year, Wu said.

Tsann Kuen plans to increase the number of its outlets from 135 to 170 this year.

It will also speed up expansion across the Taiwan Strait, doubling its outlets to 100 by the end of the year.

Wu said the group is concentrating on setting up new stores in China to capitalize on the burgeoning electronics market there.

"We hope to grab a majority of the market share with 1,000 outlets on both sides of the Strait by 2009," Wu said.

Combined revenues in the first four months of the year rose 70 percent from the same period last year to NT$18.82 billion.

At yesterday's meeting, shareholders approved payment of a NT$2.35 stock dividend, including a NT$2.2 cash dividend. The company's shares dropped NT$2.8 to NT$42 on the TAIEX yesterday.

The company is also expanding in the virtual world. Tsann Kuen plans to spend NT$110 million on offering virtual trading platforms on television channels and the Internet, the company said.

"We hoped to launch the services in the second quarter but now the date has not been decided as the planning is still going on," said Hsu Hsiao-chia (許曉嘉) of Tsann Kuen's merchandise planning.

The group established Star Travel Corp (燦星旅遊網) in February last year, which has become the nation's third-largest online travel agency.