(Yicai) May 14 -- TCL Electronics Holdings said the Chinese consumer electronics giant’s net profit more than doubled in the first quarter of this year, driven by enhancements in operational quality and profitability, mainly attributed to strong overseas market expansion.

Net profit surged 124 percent to HKD359.4 million (USD46 million) in the three months ended March 31 from a year earlier, primarily buoyed by proactive expansion in international markets, continuous optimization of product mix, active deployment of global supply chain and channels, and cost structure improvements, TCL Electronics said in its first-quarter financial statement yesterday.

Revenue rose 15 percent to HKD29.2 billion (USD3.7 billion) in the period, with domestic and overseas revenue accounting for 39 percent and 61 percent of the total, respectively.

Benefiting from the improvement in its television product mix and the accelerated scale expansion of its high-margin overseas internet business, TCL Electronics reported a 28 percent increase in gross profit to about HKD4.7 billion (USD602.6 million), with gross profit margin up to 16.1 percent from 14.6 percent.

Revenue from the display business climbed 19 percent to HKD19.5 billion in the period, accounting for two-thirds of the total. The segment’s gross profit margin improved to 17 percent from 14.5 percent.

Among that, revenue from the large-sized display business surged over 17 percent to HKD16.7 billion, benefiting from the continued increase in the proportion of mid-to-high-end and large-screen televisions.

“The group continued to expand its global channel footprint and deepen the development of key channels, further strengthening its retail capabilities and brand influence, driving TCL TV’s market share to remain among the top three in over 20 countries worldwide,” the company noted.

On March 31, TCL Electronics entered into an agreement with Sony to form a joint venture to take over the Japanese electronics giant’s global home entertainment business. “The two parties will jointly build a new global home entertainment ecosystem, further deepening the group’s strategic presence in the global mid-to-high-end market,” TCL Electronics noted.

Shares of TCL Electronics [HKG: 1070] were trading up 2.4 percent at HKD15.93 (USD2.03) as of lunch break in Hong Kong today.

In its earnings outlook, TCL Electronics said it had a relatively low earnings base in the first quarter of last year, leading to a significant jump in the same period this year.

The company expects its earnings to maintain steady growth this year, but given the seasonal and cyclical factors of the industry, it warned investors that its first-quarter performance may not fully reflect the full-year operational outlook.

Editor: Futura Costaglione