5th Oct 2020 11:30
(Alliance News) - Mulberry Group PLC on Monday posted a widened loss for financial 2020 but assured it expects to deliver improved results for financial 2021.
Shares in the luxury leather accessories retailer were trading 7.8% lower at 153.00 pence each on Monday morning in London.
For the 52 weeks ended March 28, Mulberry posted a pretax loss of GBP47.9 million, widened significantly from a GBP5.0 million loss the year prior. This was as revenue fell 10% to GBP149 million from GBP166.3 million, reflecting a challenging UK market affected by Brexit-related political uncertainty and the impact of Covid-19 towards the end of the financial year. The company also booked GBP32.1 million in impairment costs amid the pandemic.
No full-year dividend was declared compared to 5.0p the year prior in order to maintain a "robust" liquidity position due to Covid-19 related uncertainty. Cash held as at March 28 was GBP8.0 million.
Turning to current performance, the Bath-based company said trading since the start to the new financial year has been ahead of early expectations, with group revenue down 29% for the 26-week period from March 29 to September 26 and trends improving since stores reopened.
Looking ahead, Mulberry said that while sales for financial 2021 are expected to be lower than financial 2020, it expects to report a reduction in losses.
As at September 25, it had net cash of GBP8.0 million, unchanged from March.
By Ife Taiwo; [email protected]
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