Shoe and footwear maker and distributor Belle International Holdings Ltd said its China footwear business same-store sales grew 18.5 percent in the third quarter from a year ago, sending shares to their highest level in five weeks.

Belle.com.cn

Belle, a strategic partner of Nike Inc and Adidas AG (ADSGn.DE), said third quarter same-store sales for its sportswear business grew 2.5 percent.

Belle opened a net 693 retail stores on the mainland in the quarter, including 391 footwear stores and 302 sportswear stores. It directly managed 9,544 footwear stores and 4,306 sportswear stores in China as of the end of September.

In August, Belle had said it expected full-year same-store sales of its shoe retailing business to grow 15 percent.

The company's stock rose 3.3 percent in mid-morning trade on Thursday to its highest in five weeks, outpacing a 1.6 percent gain in the broader market . (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Ken Wills)