SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) - US coffeehouse chain Starbucks on Wednesday reported 13-week sales gains in its China market with a 5-percent growth rate by the end of September, despite facing greater competition from local rivals in the country.

(File photo: VCG)

"China comparable store sales increased by 5 percent, with comparable transactions up by 2 percent," Starbucks said in an earnings report for the fourth quarter ending on Sept. 29.

The company said it opened its first Starbucks Now store in Beijing in July, focusing on innovative on-the-go order-delivery experience via online payment, a popular form of settling transactions in China.

China is one of Starbucks's two major markets, where it witnessed a 17-percent net store growth, driving its global net store growth by 7 percent last year.

"China grew comparable store sales by 5 percent and total transactions by 13 percent," said Starbucks President and CEO Kevin Johnson.

Starbucks is facing strong competition from Chinese startups including Luckin Coffee, which was founded in 2017 and has about 3,000 shops in China.

In the United States, Starbucks comparable store sales went up 6 percent, driven by a 3-percent increase in average ticket and a 3-percent growth in comparable transactions.

The Seattle, Washington-based coffeehouse operator opened 630 net new stores in the fourth quarter, bringing the total to 31,256 stores at the end of the quarter, a 7-percent increase year on year.

Its quarterly net revenues also grew 7 percent over the same period of 2018 to reach 6.7 billion US dollars.

Starbucks posted a yearly net revenue of 26.5 billion dollars, a 7-percent increase over 2018. It also had a 15-percent year-on-year growth of active Rewards members, pushing the figure to 17.6 million in the US market.

"I'm very pleased with our strong finish to fiscal 2019, as we sustained positive momentum across each of our business segments," Johnson said.

"Our strong performance throughout fiscal 2019 gives us confidence in a robust operating outlook for fiscal 2020," he added.

Starbucks hopes to open 2,000 net new stores globally next year, achieving global comparable store sales growth of 3 percent to 4 percent. Among them, about 1,400 new stores will be opened in China and other countries.