In this file photo taken on Aug 28, 2003, a woman passes a SaSa cosmetic store in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.  (PETER PARKS / AFP)

Beauty products retailer Sa Sa International Holdings has reported that sales in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the third quarter ending December, while positive, were less than they were in the comparable period before the coronavirus pandemic, in the 2018-19 fiscal year.

Sa Sa also said it expects a negative impact on sales from the fifth wave of coronavirus infections in Hong Kong — its core market

Sa Sa also said it expects a negative impact on sales from the fifth wave of coronavirus infections in Hong Kong — its core market.

The company said retail and wholesale turnover in Hong Kong climbed 1.5 percent from the year before, to HK$618.7 million ($79.45 million). But this was down 66.3 percent from the same period in the 2018-19 fiscal year.

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Leading investment bank UBS said retail sales in Hong Kong remain 24 percent below the 2018 level of “pre-social unrest and pre-COVID-19.’

Total turnover, including in the Macao SAR, the Chinese mainland, and Malaysia, was HK$982.3 million, up 4.7 percent year-on-year for the third quarter from Oct 1 to Dec 31. But sales were down 53.7 percent compared with the same period in the 2018-19 fiscal year.

Online sales increased 19.9 percent, generating HK$209.8 million.

Sa Sa said sales in Hong Kong improved as a result of the second phase of the Consumption Voucher Scheme in October, plus the company’s promotions and new products. Same-store sales in Hong Kong and Macao increased 7.8 percent year-on-year in the third quarter.

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Sa Sa operates 87 stores in Hong Kong and Macao. The group closed 16 stores in the third quarter.

On the Chinese mainland, same-store sales dropped 22.2 percent from the year before because of COVID-19 outbreaks in many parts of the country.

The group said that as of Dec 31, it had net cash of about HK$312.7 million, higher than the HK$267.5 million it had as of Sept 30.