Electrical Appliance Holdings, one of China's largest electrical appliance retailers, yesterday said its net profit surged by an annual 39 percent in 2010, and a change in leadership will see the company quicken its expansion.

The Hong Kong-listed company said its net profit last year rose to 1.96 billion yuan (US$299 million) from 1.41 billion yuan a year earlier. Revenue jumped nearly 20 percent year on year to 42.67 billion yuan.

The company attributed the profit rise to the closure of 39 under-performing stores and opening 139 new outlets in regions which are supported by its logistic network, said a statement the retailer filed with the Hong Kong stock exchange yesterday.

By the end of last year, the number of Gome's listed outlets rose from 726 to 826, according to the statement. But the results did not include around 500 unlisted outlets owned by Huang Guangyu, the company's jailed founder.

Its major competitor Suning Appliance Co said on March 16 that its 2010 net profit jumped 38.8 percent from a year earlier to 4 billion yuan, more than double that of Gome's.

Zhang Dazhong, Gome's new chairman and founder of Beijing Dazhong Electric which Gome bought in 2007, said during a press conference in Hong Kong that the company has adjusted its development strategy and will focus on opening more new outlets, especially in smaller inland cities.

Gome's former Chairman Chen Xiao unexpectedly quit three weeks ago, ending a long battle over control between him and Huang.