Wolves owner Fosun's profits rise 20 per cent to £540m
Wolves owner Fosun International enjoyed a 20 per cent rise in profits in 2023.
The Chinese group, which bought the football club for £30 million in 2016, saw industrial operating profits of £540 million.
Revenue for Fosun, which was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Shanghai, grew 8.6 per cent to £21.71 billion.
Overseas revenue, including from Premier League Wolves which is part of Fosun's Happiness sector, was up six per cent to £9.77bn.
Fosun chairman Guo Guangchang said: “After more than a decade of efforts, Fosun has gradually completed its global expansion and industrial business presence, anchoring itself in the household consumption sector.
"Fosun’s industry operations strategy has also evolved from ‘prospecting’ and ‘exploration’ across various industries and locations worldwide to ‘deep mining’ (which means focusing on the development of our core industries) and ‘developing good mines’ (which means tapping into industries with high value-added development and growth potential).
"We will continue to focus on core businesses, leveraging our unique strengths to enhance our capabilities and strengthen our foundation, and actively invest and expand in advantageous sectors, taking stable profit growth as the core objective.”
Mr Guangchang's only mention of Wolves in his letter to shareholders was: "Through the power of football, the Premier League Wolves Foundation cooperates with more than 100 local schools to help thousands of primary school students grow in key areas such as personal, social, health, and sports."
Fosun, which has a business presence in more than 35 countries and regions, invested £810m in technology innovation last year.
Interest-bearing debt at the group level was down by £1.01bn compared with the end of 2022.
Its four core subsidiaries are jewellery and fashion group Yuyuan, Fosun Pharma, Fosun Insurance Portugal and Fosun Tourism Group, which takes in Club Med.
In the 'Happiness' sector, as of the end of 2023, Club Med had sales and marketing operations in more than 40 countries and regions across six continents, and operated 68 resorts including 10 in China.
This year Fosun is focusing more on enhancing asset-light operational capabilities and seizing development opportunities.
Mr Guangchang said: "Through forward-looking planning, we will deeply explore the capabilities and value of the Fosun ecosystem, endeavoring to create more good products and services for one billion families worldwide.”
Fosun is listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and at the end of 2023 its total assets amounted to £88.5bn.
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