Li & Fung to miss three-year profit target

Li & Fung (494.HKG), the world’s largest supplier of toys and clothes to retailers, said it will miss its three-year profit target due to reduced demand from the US economy, Bloomberg reported, quoting comments by CEO Bruce Rockowitz in Hong Kong yesterday. The company set a goal in 2010 to reach operating profit of US$1.5 billion in 2013. The announcement comes after Li & Fung’s net income dropped 9.4% from a year earlier to US$617 million in 2012. The company’s distribution unit, which licenses and supplies brands to retailers like Walmart (WMT.NYSE) and Target (TGT.NYSE), recorded a US$38.9 million operating loss last year.