Chow Tai Fook names gold-loan gains first in 90–100% profit alert
The jeweller expects half-year net profit to the end of September to rise by that much. Group retail value fell 0.5% in the July to September quarter, RTHK and on.cc report.
By Carat Capital
What changed
Gold loans come first. Chow Tai Fook expects net profit for the six months to 30 September to rise about 90–100%. Its first-named reason is a fair-value gain on gold-loan contracts.
What it means
- If you hold the stock: Read the interim split between the gold-loan gain and sales before pricing the alert.
- If you franchise on the mainland: Chow Tai Fook Jewellery closed 263 mainland points and opened 23 in the quarter.
- What this is not: A doubling of jewellery sales. Group retail value fell 0.5% in the quarter.
Key figures
| Half-year net profitexpected, to 30 September | +90–100% |
|---|---|
| Group retail valueJuly to September | −0.5% |
| Mainland retail valueover 83% of the total | −5.3% |
| Hong Kong, Macau same-storeJuly to September | +29.6% |
Source: RTHK, 22 October 2026, 17:22 HKT, and on.cc, 22 October 2026, 16:33, reporting the company's announcements. The HKEX operational data and profit alert were read on 24 and 25 October.
Two reasons, in order
Accounting leads. The alert credits a fair-value gain on revaluing gold-loan contracts, against a fair-value loss a year earlier. Improved sales in core markets come second.
The split waits. The interim results will show how much of the rise each reason explains.
| Measure | Mainland | Hong Kong and Macao |
|---|---|---|
| Retail value | −5.3% | +33.2%, with other markets |
| Same-store sales | +2.2% | +29.6% |
| Same-store volume | −9.7% | +14.0% |
| Share of retail value | 83.3% | 16.7%, with other markets |
| Chow Tai Fook jewellery points | 23 opened, 263 closed, net 240 closed | net 1 opened |
Retail value and its share cover Hong Kong, Macao and other markets; the same-store rows cover Hong Kong and Macao only, as the filing splits them. The group's -0.5% should not be rebuilt from the regional figures: the weights are not the base year's.
The mainland turned down
The mainland fell. Mainland retail value fell 5.3% in the quarter, after rising 10.7% in April to June. RTHK ties the fall to network optimisation and a high base a year earlier.
Volume fell. Mainland same-store sales rose 2.2% while same-store volume fell 9.7%, the HKEX filing shows.
Fewer points. The group had 5,192 points at the end of September, 242 fewer than at the end of June, RTHK reports.
Hong Kong offset most of it
Hong Kong rose. Retail value in Hong Kong, Macao and other markets rose 33.2%. Same-store sales in Hong Kong and Macao alone rose 29.6%.
Luk Fook too. Rival Luk Fook reported group same-store sales up 12% for July to September. Hong Kong and Macau rose 13% and the mainland 3%, on.cc reports.
What to watch
- Late NovemberChow Tai Fook's interim results, and the gold-loan gain in Hong Kong dollars.
- MonthlyHong Kong's retail sales figures, the test of the 29.6% same-store rise.
- Next quarterWhether mainland closures keep outrunning openings.
The story so far
Go deeper
Corrections
Correction, 24 October 2026: a subhead in this article read 'The mainland shrank again'. In April to June, the previous quarter, Chow Tai Fook's mainland retail value grew 10.7%, as Carat Capital reported on 26 July, so 'again' was wrong; the subhead now reads 'The mainland turned down' and the paragraph gives the earlier quarter. Four labels also changed against the company's HKEX filing: the 263 closures are Chow Tai Fook Jewellery points, not the group's; 'Fewer pieces sold' is now 'Volume fell', because the measure is same-store volume; the +29.6% same-store figure covers Hong Kong and Macao only, while +33.2% includes other markets; and 'Hong Kong carried the quarter' is now 'Hong Kong offset most of it', since group retail value still fell 0.5%. What was right as published: every figure. Found by Carat Capital's standards desk on 23 October 2026.
Clarified, 25 October 2026: the page said the HKEX filing was not read, while also citing it. The HKEX operational data was read on 24 October and the HKEX profit alert on 25 October; both now appear in the sources. The closures cell now states the mainland net. What was right as published: every figure. Found by Carat Capital's standards desk on 24 October 2026.
What would change this call
Interim results showing sales, not the gold-loan gain, carried most of the profit rise. Then the alert reads as a retail recovery.
How a gold-loan gain arises
Under a gold-loan contract a jeweller borrows gold and owes gold back. The contract is revalued at the gold price, so a gain or loss lands in profit as the price moves.
Method
RTHK Chinese-language report, page stamp '2026-10-22 HKT 17:22', fetched 23 October 2026, 200, 80,073 bytes. on.cc report, dateline '2026年10月22日 16:33', fetched 23 October 2026, 200, 20,064 bytes. Read in the bodies: '約90%至1倍' (RTHK) and '約90至100%' (on.cc) for the alert; '黃金借貸合約重估產生公允值收益' in both; RTHK '零售值按年跌0.5%', '33.2%', '5.3%', '逾83%', '近17%', '29.6%', '2.2%', '5192個', '242個'; on.cc '9.7%', '14%', '23個', '263個', '淨關閉240個'. RTHK's 242 is the group's total points; on.cc's 240 is the mainland net for Chow Tai Fook Jewellery points, so the two are different counts. The HKEX operational data was read on 24 October (below), and the HKEX profit alert on 25 October. The prior-year half's profit was not re-read, so no Hong Kong dollar range is printed. Luk Fook: on.cc, dateline '2026年10月22日 18:06', fetched 23 October 2026, 200, 20,304 bytes: '同店銷售分別升8%、23%及12%' (retail value, retail revenue, same-store), '同店銷售升13%', '同店銷售升3%'; on.cc does not say 'year on year' on those lines. ARCHIVE, by entity and period: 'Chow Tai Fook' with 'profit alert' 0 rows; 'same-store' 3 rows, opened: the 26 July report covers April to June, group retail value +15.1%. This is July to September and the half: ADVANCED. Luk Fook's 22 July report covers April to June: ADVANCED. Re-read 24 October 2026 for the correction below: Chow Tai Fook's HKEX operational data, 200, 254,871 bytes, PDF created 14:32 HKT 22 October 2026: 'RSV growth –5.3% +33.2%' under a 'Hong Kong & Macao of China and other markets' column, 'Same Store Sales' '+2.2% +29.6%' and 'SSS volume growth –9.7% +14.0%' under a 'Hong Kong & Macao of China' column, 'Contribution to Group RSV 83.3% 16.7%', and 'closed 263 POS' for Chow Tai Fook Jewellery in the Mainland. April to June mainland growth of 10.7% is from Carat Capital's 26 July report of the company's previous quarter. Profit alert re-read 25 October 2026 at HKEX, 200, 44,330 bytes: '90' 1, '100%' 1, 'gold loan' 1, 'end of November 2026' 1; reason (b) is 'improved sales performance in the Group's key markets'.