14th Nov 2013 07:47
LONDON (Alliance News) - Burberry Group PLC Thursday reported flat adjusted pretax profit in the first half of the year, due to costs associated with bringing its beauty division in-house earlier in the year.
The British luxury fashion house reported adjusted pretax profit of GBP174 million in the six months to September 30, only marginally above GBP173 million last year, as the group decided to bring its beauty division in-house back in April, resulting in a GBP7.5 million exceptional charge in the period.
However, on a reported basis Burberry said its pretax profit increased to GBP159 million, compared with GBP112 million a year earlier.
Burberry increased its interim dividend by 10% to 8.8 pence.
First-half revenues rose 17% to GBP1.03 billion, driven by strong worldwide demand for its luxury coats, accessories and fragrances.
Burberry said its online business outperformed in all regions, and for its stores, flagship markets performed well, driven by traveling luxury customers.
It said that its opened 14 mainline stores during the first half, mainly in high potential markets.
Burberry shares fell sharply last month after it was revealed that Chief Creative Officer Christopher Bailey will take over from current Chief Executive Officer Angela Ahrendts when she steps down to take up a new role at technology giant Apple in the middle of next year.
The group said it held net cash of GBP208 million at September 30, down from GBP237 million.
By Rowena Harris-Doughty; [email protected]; @rharrisdoughty
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