Sep. 3, 2010 (China Knowledge) - Esprit Holdings Ltd<0330>, one of the world's leading clothing retailers, said its fiscal full-year net profit was HK$4.23 billion, down 11% from the HK$4.75 billion recorded a year earlier, sources reported.

The company attributed the decline mainly to weak wholesale business and continued economic weakness in Europe, from which it derives the majority of its revenue.

Revenue fell 2.2% year on year to HK$33.73 billion from HK$34.49 billion. Revenue from the company's wholesale business dropped 13% to HK$15.63 billion and accounted for 46% of total revenue, down from 52% in the previous fiscal year. The company's retail business accounted for 53% of total revenue, up from 47% in the previous fiscal year, with revenue rising 9.3% to HK$17.88 billion from HK$16.35 billion.

Europe's contribution to the company's revenue declined to 83% from 85%.

Esprit proposed a final dividend of 67 HK cents, while it delivered a final dividend of 0.72 HK cents plus special dividend of HK$ 1.33 last year.