Samsonite to pursue dual listing in US, implement US$200-million share buy-back

“The company believes this dual listing will build on its strong investor support on the Hong Kong stock exchange and help the company continue to deliver on its value-creation goals,” the company said in its filing. “The listing is also expected to increase liquidity of the company’s shares and create an opportunity to reach investors in the US that is an important part of the company’s global footprint and growth driver for its business.”

The company also announced a share buy-back programme of up to US$200 million.

The company’s plan reflects how Hong Kong’s market valuation has cheapened through the past three years.

Hang Seng Index members are now trading at about 9.6 times forward earnings on average, according to Bloomberg data, versus about 13 times before the Covid-19 outbreak in early 2020.

Samsonite on Wednesday reported a net profit of US$164.3 million in the first half of this year, up 7.7 per cent from the same period last year. Excluding foreign-currency effects, the increase was 16.1 per cent.

Net sales slipped 0.4 per cent to US$1.77 billion. Still, that amounted to 2.8 per cent on a constant currency basis compared to “a record first half in 2023 that was fuelled by strong travel demand and consumer spending, as well as large wholesale customers rebuilding their inventory levels”, the company said.

US net sales fell 0.2 per cent to US$575 million, while China revenue rose 3.8 per cent. The whole of Asia recorded net sales of US$680 million.

Samsonite’s shares declined 2.5 per cent to HK$21.15 on Wednesday, widening the loss this year to 16.2 per cent.

The Luxembourg and Massachusetts-based company is worth HK$30.9 billion at its current market price.