(Yicai) Nov. 2 -- Chinese coffee chain Luckin Coffee reported an 87 percent increase in net profit in the third quarter of the year, mainly because of the increased number of stores.

Net profit was CNY988 million (USD135 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30, the Xiamen-based firm announced yesterday. Revenue soared 85 percent to CNY7.2 billion (USD985.6 million) in the period from a year earlier.

Luckin Coffee opened 2,437 new outlets in the third quarter of the year, with the store count jumping nearly 23 percent to 13,273 from the previous quarter, the firm added, noting that 8,807 stores were self operated and 4,446 jointly operated. By the end of the year, Luckin Coffee aims to reach 15,000 outlets.

Luckin Coffee’s revenue from self-operated stores was around CNY5.1 billion, up 79 percent from a year earlier. The figure for its jointly-operated stores was around CNY1.8 billion, up 105 percent in the period.

In the third quarter, Luckin Coffee’s new customers exceeded 30 million, with a monthly average of 58.5 million, a new record high. The total number of Luckin Coffee’s clients exceeded 200 million as of Sept. 30.

Luckin Coffee launched 12 freshly made beverages in the third quarter. The liquor-flavored latte the company debuted in cooperation with leading Chinese baijiu maker Kweichow Moutai became Luckin Coffee’s best-selling product with a total of 5.4 million cups sold for over CNY100 million (USD13.7 million) on launch day.

Editor: Futura Costaglione