Gome Electrical Appliances, the big Chinese electrical appliance chain controlled by jailed billionaire Wong Kwong Yu, said today net profit in the six months to June rose by 115% from a year earlier to 693 million yuan, or $113 million, as the company better seized synergies between its online and offline businesses. 

Sales rose by 7.4% from last year to 29.1 billion yuan. Gome, which advised investors last month of a likely doubling of profit, notably cut its selling and distribution expenses as a percentage of sales revenue to 12.3% versus 13.3% last year.  Rental and salaries as a percentage of sales both fell. 

Wong, a former No. 1 on the Forbes China Rich List, is serving a 14-year jail sentence for financial crimes.  He ranked No. 1,143 on the 2014 Forbes Billionaires List with wealth of $1.55 billion 

Gome competes in China with  U.S.-listed Chinese Internet company JD.com, Nanjing-headquartered Suning Appliances and Wal-Mart, among others.    Its shares have gained nearly 80% in the past year. 
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