SuperGroup sales hit by late Easter
SuperGroup, the owner of the Superdry clothing brand, has said its full year profits will be towards the lower end of market expectations after like-for-like sales fell by 3.1% in its fourth quarter.
The group now expects pre-tax profit for the full year to be around £62.9 million compared to analysts’ forecasts of between £61.1 million and £65.2 million.
While retail sales rose by 13.3% to £54.6 million in the three months to 26 April 2014, like-for-like sales were impacted by this year’s late Easter and a planned reduction in lower margin sales on Ebay. When adjusted for the impact of reduced Ebay sales, like-for-like sales fell by 1.3%.
Looking at the full financial year, SuperGroup said that retail sales had grown by 17.7% to £285.4 million with cumulative like-for-like growth of 3.2%.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Total group sales increased by 12.4% in the fourth quarter to £97.8 million. Wholesale sales climbed 11.2% to £43.2 million.
SuperGroup opened 100,000 square feet of new space in the quarter to deliver year-on-year space growth of over 18%.
Julian Dunkerton, SuperGroup chief executive, said: “We have delivered a solid performance over the past year whilst managing a smooth transition to our new distribution centre and the implementation of the merchandising management system.
“The reaction to our autumn/winter 2014/15 collections is encouraging and, with a strong pipeline of new stores, particularly in mainland Europe, positions us well for the year ahead. The strength of the Superdry brand and the investment we have made in our teams leaves me confident in our ability to deliver the growth strategy.”
