25th Jul 2018 10:51
LONDON (Alliance News) - Joules Group PLC said Wednesday it made annual profit "ahead of initial expectations" within a tough UK retail market plagued by store closures by others.
For the year to May 27, the clothing retailer posted revenue up 18% to GBP185.9 million from GBP157.0 million the year before, after "strong growth" across the retail and wholesale sectors.
On a geographic basis, sales in the core UK market increased 16% and international sales increased 40% - now representing 13% of the group's total revenue.
As several UK retailers closed stores due to a shift in consumer spending towards online, Joules expanded and now operates 123 stores in the UK and Ireland after opening 15 new stores in the past financial year.
Pretax profit widened by a quarter to GBP11.2 million compared to GBP8.9 million in the comparative year ago period.
The company proposed a final dividend of 1.3 pence per share taking its full-year dividend to 2.0p, up from 1.8p last year.
"The challenges facing the wider UK retail sector are well documented. The shift towards online shopping in combination with sector discounting, cost and consumer spending pressures is making life incredibly challenging for some retail businesses," Joules said.
Despite the sector difficulties, the company said it believes it is "well positioned" to continue to grow.
Joules shares were trading down 1.0% at 342.50p.
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