By Martin Mou

China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp. said Monday that its third-quarter net profit more than doubled from a year earlier, thanks to strong sales growth for duty-free goods in the tourist hotpot of Hainan province.

Net profit jumped to 2.23 billion yuan ($333.1 million), up 142% from a year earlier, while revenue grew 39% to CNY15.83 billion, the company said in an announcement of preliminary results.

Sharply higher sales of luxury bags, watches and jewelry, which have high gross profit margins, helped boost the company's third-quarter financial results, it said.

For the first nine months of the year, however, the company's net profit plunged 25% from the prior year to CNY3.16 billion, while revenue slipped 2.8%, due to the Covid-19 pandemic's impact, China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp. said.

China eased restrictions on sales of duty-free goods in the southern tropical island province of Hainan in July, which has provided a huge boost to China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp., the country's top duty-free shop operator.

Write to Martin Mou at martin.mou@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-12-20 0508ET