Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to all of our viewers online. Today, VTech Holdings Limited is announcing its results for the financial year end, March 31, 2019. For your reference, the webcast of this announcement, accompanied by the presentation you will see shortly, will be available on VTech's website starting at 10:30 this evening, Hong Kong time. Here to present the results on my left are Mr. King Pang, Executive Director and Group President. Mr. Allan Wong, Chairman and Group CEO of VTech Holdings. Mr. Andy Leung, Executive Director and CEO of Contract Manufacturing Services. Ms. Shereen Tong, Group Chief Financial Officer. First of all, Ms. Tong will present the group's financial performance. Next, Mr. Leung will review the group's operations. Mr. Pang will then give the management's outlook for the coming year. We will finish our presentation with a Q&A session.
May I invite Ms. Tong to open today's presentation, please?
Thank you, Corinna. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and all viewers online. First of all, I would like to share with you the financial highlights of the group for the year end of March 31, 2019, compared with the same period of the last year. As you see from the slide, the revenue of the group rose by 1.5% to $2,161.9 million. The increase in revenue was mainly driven by the higher sales in Europe and Asia Pacific, which offset the decrease in revenue in North America and other regions. The gross profit of the group, however, reduced by 9.3% to $626.4 million, and our gross profit margin also reduced from 33% to 29.4%. The decrease in gross profit and gross profit margin was mainly attributable to the product mix and higher material prices.
The delivery costs and manufacturing overheads were also higher than the same period of the last year due to the higher wages in China, which offsets the positive impact on further productivity gains. Our operating profit reduced by 16.5% to $193.2 million, and our operating profit margin also reduced from 10.9% to 8.9%. The decrease in operating profit and operating profit margin was mainly due to the decrease in gross profit and gross profit margin, which offset the reduction in total operating expenses. Our operating profit for the financial year 2019 also included gain on disposal of tangible asset. Our profit attributable to shareholders reduced by 17% to $171.3 million, and our net profit margin also reduced from 9.7% to 7.9%.
As a result, our basic earnings per share reduced by 16.9% to $0.692, and our board of directors has proposed a final dividend of $0.15, bringing the total dividend per share for the year to $0.67. Turning to the revenue by region. North America remains the largest market of the group, accounting for 46% of the group's revenue. Our sales in North America reduced by 4.5% to $994.5 million. The decrease in revenue was mainly due to the lower sales of our telecommunication products and Contract Manufacturing Services, which offset the higher sales of our Electronic Learning Products. Our sales to European market rose by four percent to $882.9 million. It was mainly due to the higher sales for Contract Manufacturing Services, which offset the lower sales of our Electronic Learning Products and telecommunication products.
In Asia Pacific region, the revenue of the group rose by 26.1% to $248.6 million. The increase in revenue was mainly due to the higher sales of our Electronic Learning Product and Contract Manufacturing Services, which offset the lower sales of our telecommunication products. Other regions include Latin America, Middle East, and Africa. The group's revenue in other region reduced by 16.3% to $35.9 million. The decrease in sales in other regions was mainly due to the decrease in sales of our telecommunication product and Electronic Learning Product, which offset the higher sales of our Contract Manufacturing Services. Our stock balance as at March 31, 2019 increased from $349.9 million to $369.9 million. Our stock turnover days, however, shortened from 102 days - 100 days compared with the same period of the last year.
The highest stock level was mainly due to the increase in our in-house productions of the Snom products and the increased demand of the group's product in the first quarter of the financial year 2020. Our trade debt balance as at March 31, 2019 decreased by 0.7% to $263 million. Our trade debt turnover day remained the same as 65 days. Our financial position remains very strong. We were debt-free, and our net cash balance as at March 31, 2019 was $237 million. A decrease of 6.8% comparable to the same period of the last year. The decrease in net cash balance was mainly include the payment for the acquisitions of the manufacturing facility in Malaysia, as well as the higher dividend payment as compared with the same period of the last year. That's all of my presentation.
I will now invite Mr. Andy Leung to share with you our operations review. Mr. Leung, please.
Thank you, Shereen. Good afternoon, everyone. I want to start by looking at the cost of operation. The gross profit margin of the group declined from 33% in the fiscal year 2018 to 29.4% in the fiscal year 2019. The decrease was due to higher material price, which in part result from tight supply of certain components, product mix, and a rise in direct labor cost and manufacturing overhead. The trade tension between China and U.S. is something on everyone's mind at the moment. During the fiscal year 2019, the U.S. government began to impose additional tariff on Chinese imports. In total, around $250 billion of goods from China to U.S. were subject to additional tariff, ranging from 10% to 25%. On May 10, 2019, the tariff on $200 billion of Chinese imports were raised from 10% to 25%.
Negotiation have been underway regarding the trade arrangement between the two country. So far, none of our electronic learning product or telecommunication product is subject to such tariff. However, a number of our CMS customer in the U.S. are affected. Some of them are making plans to move part of their production from our manufacturing facility in mainland China into the production facility that we recently acquired from Pioneer in Malaysia. Despite this, there was little impact on the group revenue in the fiscal year 2019. Turning now to our operation, beginning with North America. Group revenue in North America increased by 4.5% to $994.5 million in the fiscal year 2019, as higher sales of electronic learning products was offset by lower revenue of telecommunication products and CMS. North America was VTech's largest market, accounting for 46% of the total group revenue.
Electronic learning product revenue in North America ramped up by four percent to $476.6 million, with particularly strong growth in Canada. The performance was achieved despite the closure of Toys Us in the U.S., as some of our existing customer expand their sales space and assortment of toys to capture the business previously conduct by the retailer. The group also increased sales to some second-tier retailers. Additional momentum came from the launch of new VTech and LeapFrog products. These were well-received by the market and enabled the group to gain further market share. As a result, VTech strengthened its position as the number one manufacturer of electronic learning products from infancy through toddler and preschool in the U.S. Stand-alone product posts growth, driven by higher sales for both the LeapFrog and VTech brand.
LeapFrog stand-alone products saw growth as we pursue a strategy to expand the brand stand-alone toys business by launching more new products. Among the new item launch, Learning Friends 100 Words Book, Storytime Buddy, and Go-with-Me ABC Backpack sold particular well. Growth of VTech stand-alone products was driven by higher sales of preschool products, such as PJ Masks Learning Watch range, KidiZoom camera, and the KidiLove. This success offset the decline in Go! Go! Smart Family of products. Sales of platform product decreased. VTech platform product registered a sale increase driven by strong sell-through of KidiZoom Smartwatch DX2 and KidiBuzz. LeapFrog reading system also saw higher sales, driven by the part good performance of the newly launched LeapStart 3D. These gains, however, were insufficient to offset lower sales of children educational tablet.
Subscription to the LeapFrog Academy continues to grow steadily. Telecommunication product revenue in North America decreased by 19.4% to $263.4 million, with lower sales of residential phone, commercial phone, and other telecommunication products. Residential phone were again affected by the continuous contraction of the fixed line telephone market. The group also faced keen competition and a trend among retailer to consolidate their suppliers, leading to a loss of sales base in club and consumer electronic channels. Despite this, VTech maintained its leadership position in the U.S. residential phone market. Commercial phones and other telecommunication products report sales decline as higher sales of headset and hotel phone were insufficient to offset lower sales of VoIP phone, baby monitor, and wireless monitoring system. Headset benefit from the launch and strong sell-through of the world first hands-free voice control headsets by a customer.
Hotel phones maintain their growth as the group wins more new projects. Sales of VoIP phone decreased mainly due to a product delay. Baby monitor experienced an overall sale declines as the customer reduced order. However, in the calendar year 2018, our VTech brand baby monitor continues to grow and the group is the number one brand baby monitor brand by dollar sales in the U.S. Wireless monitoring system were affected by lower sales of Wi-Fi IP cameras. CMS revenue in North America declined by 0.5% to $254.5 million. Higher sales of industrial products and medical and health product were offset by lower sales of solid-state lighting and communication products. Sales of professional audio equipment remained stable. Industrial product benefit from increased orders for printed circuit board assembly for load counting device and industrial printers.
Sales of medical and health product went up due to more orders for Hearing Aid. Solid-state lighting were affected by keen competition faced by the group customers. Communication product decline as the customer product line reached the end of its life cycle. Turning now to Europe. Group revenue in Europe increased by four percent to $882.9 million in the fiscal year 2019, as higher sales of CMS offset lower revenue of electronic learning products and telecommunication products. Europe remain VTech's second-largest market, accounting for 40.8% of the group revenue. Electronic learning product revenue in Europe report a 5.4% decrease to $343.5 million. All major European market report lower sales. This was mainly due to the tough market condition in most of VTech key European markets. In the U.K., Toys Us closed all its stores. In other European markets, some retailer faced financial problems.
In the U.K., toys logistic issue in continental Europe in the first half of the fiscal year 2019 result in a lower sales products also contribute to the lower sales. However, we successfully resolved the logistic issue in the second half of the fiscal year and able to recover most of the sales loss. In the calendar year 2018, VTech maintained its position as the number one infants and toddler toys manufacturer in France, the U.K., and Germany. In standalone products, sales of VTech brand product were down across due to the tough market condition and the logistic issue. The sales of VTech brand product remained stable. During the fiscal year 2019, a brand new range of interactive building set called LeapBuilders or BlaBlaBlocks was launched in our major European markets. The launch marked VTech expansion into the building set category.
In platform products, sales were lower for both the LeapFrog and VTech brands. VTech saw higher sales of KidiZoom Smartwatch, augmented by the launch of the upgraded version of Touch & Learn Activity Desk. Continuous growth in the VTech reading system was supported by the launch of the LeapStart 3D in the U.K. market. These gains, however, were insufficient to compensate for lower sales of KidiCom Max and children educational tablet. Revenue from telecommunication product in Europe decreased by 9.8% to $119.7 million, as sales of residential phone, commercial phones and other telecommunication products decreased. Residential phones saw sales declines as the major fixed line telephone market contract further. Commercial phone and other telecommunication product have mixed result. VoIP phone continues to expand, supported by a positive reception from customer on the new series of product under the Snom plan. Sales of hotel phone were stable.
Other telecommunication product, namely baby monitor, CAT-iq handsets and integrated access device, saw sales decline, and order from customer reduce. CMS revenue in Europe increased by 18.5% to $419.7 million. Growth was seen across the board, driven by higher sales of hearable, professional audio equipment, industrial products, home appliance, and communication products. The growth in hearable was strong, driven by the market share gain as the group took over order from competitors. The growth was further supported by new product launch and good sell-through of product by existing customers. Professional audio equipment will benefit from new product launch by existing customers. The shift towards smart home continues to benefit the industrial product category. There were more order for internet-connected smart thermostat and air conditioning controls. The growth in U.K. was due to the introduction of a new generation of smart meters.
In home appliance, growth was driven by increased demand for electric oven in Italy, a market share gained by a major customer in Russia. Higher sales of communication product were driven by more order for network router from an existing customer. Group revenue in Asia-Pacific increased by 26.1% to $248.6 million in fiscal year 2019. Higher sales of electronic learning product and CMS offset lower sales of telecommunication products. Asia-Pacific represented 11.5% of the group revenue. Revenue from electronic learning product in Asia-Pacific ramped up by 12.9% to $81.2 million, as growth continues in mainland China and Australia. Higher sales of VTech brand product in other Asia-Pacific markets also support the overall growth. In mainland China, the increase in revenue result from continued sale increase for infants and toddler products, new product launch and channel expansion.
Among the new item introduced, the KidiSchool line was introduced to target the earlier educational segment, was especially well-received. Higher penetration among maternity, infants, child specialties retailer and e-commerce retailers also contribute to the growth. In addition, the group benefit from continuous expansion of Toys Us in the country. In Australia, sale continues to grow. Higher sale were seen in both LeapFrog and VTech products through broader listing and a focus on improving channel management. Telecommunication product revenue in Asia-Pacific decreased by 19.9% to $35.4 million, as lower sales in Japan, Australia and Hong Kong offset growth in Malaysia. In Japan, sale decline due to reduced shipment of cordless phone to a customer who faced financial difficulties. In Australia, the continuous contraction of the fixed line telephone market brought to lower sales of cordless phone, offsetting growth in baby monitors.
Hong Kong saw sales decrease due to decline in demand for cordless phone and lower order for integrated access device. Malaysia experienced growth as VTech became a key supplier for cordless phone of a major local telephone company. CMS revenue in Asia Pacific ramped up by 63% to $132.0 million USD. Higher sales of professional audio equipment, medical and health product, and home appliance were reported. This offset lower sales of communication product and hearables. The growth in professional audio equipment was due to the additional sale from the DJ equipment business following the completion of acquiring the manufacturing facility in Malaysia from Pioneer in August 2018. This result in a full six months sale contribution being consolidated in the second half of the fiscal year 2019. The growth in home appliance was a result of additional revenue generated by a new customer.
Medical and health product continues to benefit from higher order for diagnostic ultrasound system. Sales of communication products declined as a result of reduction in order for marine radio. Hearable were affected by keen competition in the wireless headset markets. Finally, other regions. Group revenue in other regions, namely Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, fell by 16.3% to $35.9 million USD in the fiscal year 2019. Lower sales of telecommunication product and electronic learning product offset higher sales of CMS. Other region accounts for 1.7% of the group revenue. Electronic learning product revenue in other region decreased by 7.1% to $13 million USD, with higher sales in Latin America unable to compensate for lower sales in Middle East and Africa. Telecommunication product revenue in other region declined by 21.9% to $21.7 million USD, with lower sales in Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.
CMS revenue in other regions was $1.2 million USD in the fiscal year 2019 as compared to $1.1 million USD in the previous fiscal years. This conclude my part of the presentation. I will now hand over to King for the outlook. King, please.
Thank you, Andy. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. In this final part of our presentation, I will share our outlook for the fiscal year for the group. Group revenue for the financial year 2020 is difficult to gauge, as new tariffs may potentially be levied on all Chinese imports into the U.S. VTech is assessing the impacts and taking mitigating steps, which include expanding our newly acquired production facilities in Malaysia. On the other hand, the pressure on material prices is forecast to abate and labor cost is expected to remain stable. These two factors will potentially affect group's gross margin. ELPs. In the electronic learning products, we aim to strengthen our market leadership in North America and Europe through new product introductions. For standalone products, this will be led by the expansion of our core learning products under both the VTech and LeapFrog brands.
In North America, we will begin to sell our first robotics toys, Myla the Magical Unicorn. This product has already been introduced in the group's key European markets last year. Under the LeapFrog brand, the LeapBuilders line will be introduced in the U.S. following its positive reception already in Europe. Platform products. We will also see several new platform products launched in the financial year 2020. For the LeapFrog brand, there is RockIt Twist, a brand-new handheld gaming device for children aged between four and eight. The LeapStart range will be strengthened by the addition of LeapStart Go. For the VTech brand, a new version of KidiBuzz, or in Europe KidiCom Max, will be introduced in the U.S. and the U.K. It has a new design and comes with augmented reality games and live face-tracking photo filters.
Finally, continued growth in Australia and mainland China is expected to drive higher sales in Asia Pacific. For telecommunication products, our key drive is to accelerate the pace of new product introductions. Sales of commercial phones and other telecommunication products are forecast to increase. For voice over IP phones, the rollout of new product line under the Snom brand in the financial year 2019, has laid the groundwork for higher sales this year. A new cordless conference phone with wireless microphones will also be launched this year, and the momentum in headsets will continue as more new products are launched this year. Further growth in hotel phones will be supported by the addition of customers in Macau and New Zealand. Sales of baby monitors, CAT-iq handsets, and integrated access devices will all benefit from new product launches during this year.
In residential phones, the decline in sales is expected to slow as VTech becomes the sole supplier to some key retail customers and recoups some lost market share in the U.S. CMS. Subject to further trade developments between the U.S. and China, CMS is on track for its 18th consecutive year of growth. Professional audio equipment will be boosted by rising sales at existing customers and the contribution of the new DJ equipment business. The strong momentum in hearables will continue, as a major customer will launch a new generation of headsets and transfer its production to VTech. Industrial products will also grow. Orders for internet-connected smart thermostats and smart air conditioning controls are expected to rise as our existing customer's complete product line enters full production.
The medical and health products business will benefit from the decision by customers to manufacture the finished products of its hearing aids at VTech. Several new initiatives will contribute to CMS drive to expand revenue and lower costs. A new product introduction center is being set up within our existing R&D facilities in Shenzhen, China. Its aim is to capture opportunities from start-up companies. We are also taking steps to enhance our supply management and to secure the best level of service, especially during critical supply situations. Thank you. This concludes our presentation.