Li Ning posts 3rd straight year of losses

Li Ning Co Ltd, China's best known sports apparel company, posted its third straight year of losses in 2014 but the company's founder said he was confident that they would turn a profit starting from 2015.

It posted a net loss attributable to equity holders of 780 million yuan (126 million US dollars), compared to 391.5 million yuan loss in the year ago period.

Li Ning, former Olympic gymnastics champion and the company's president, fired CEO Kim Jin Goon in November 2014. He said here on Thursday that the three-year program aimed at improving profitability had ended and the next three years would be profitable.

"2015 is a new start for the company and the following three years will see the company break through to the next level," he said. "I will devote myself to the strategic development and daily running and bring the company back to profitability."