1st Jun 2022 17:56
(Alliance News) - Dr Martens PLC is in "control over its destiny" after the iconic bootmaker shrugged off soaring inflationary pressure to raise its sales guidance for the year.
Dr Martens shares soared on Wednesday after it reported a surge in annual profit, due to a strong recovery in its Retail arm.
The stock closed up 20% at 258.80 pence on Wednesday, the best performer in the FTSE 250.
The Wollaston, Northamptonshire-based brand posted a pretax profit of GBP214.3 million for the year ended March 31, more than tripled from GBP69.7 million the year prior.
Revenue rose 18% to GBP908.3 million from GBP773.0 million. The company attributed this growth mainly to increased Retail revenue that jumped 86% to GBP185.6 million in from GBP99.7 million.
Further, it recorded a jump in E-commerce revenue of 11% to GBP262.4 million from GBP235.4 million, as brand and product awareness and consumer engagement grew.
Dr Martens proposed a maiden final dividend of 4.28 pence, taking the total payout for the year to 5.50p.
Looking ahead, the company expects "high-teens revenue growth" for financial 2023.
It also backed its medium term guidance, which expects E-commerce to grow to at least a 40% mix, with total direct to consumer, including retail, making up the remaining 60%. Further, it now expects "high teens" growth in revenue for 2023.
AJ Bell's Russ Mould commented that the company's focus on selling direct to consumers looks to be paying off, supporting margins and giving it "greater control over its destiny".
"The brand's appeal clearly still resonates with people and customer loyalty could be an absolute godsend at a time when household budgets are tight," Mould said.
"In the current environment it is impressive to see a consumer-facing company like Dr Martens accelerating growth plans though it is worth pointing out the shares still have several steps to take to reclaim the price they listed at in their IPO last January," he added.
By Arvind Bhunjun; [email protected]
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