18th May 2016 06:26
LONDON (Alliance News) - Burberry Group PLC on Wednesday reported a fall in profit in its recently ended financial year, following a tough year which saw particular challenges in the Asian market, and it announced a three-year investment and cost-saving strategy.
The luxury fashion retailer said its pretax profit in the year ended March 31 fell to GBP415.6 million from GBP444.6 million the year before, as revenue slipped to GBP2.51 billion from GBP2.52 billion, which Burberry blamed on a "difficult luxury sector" with a decline in footfall, particularly in Hong Kong.
Burberry said it will invest about GBP10 million in financial 2017 and then a further GBP20 million to GBP25 million per year over the following two years in order to improve the business and ultimately boost revenue. It also intends to deliver at least GBP100 million of annualised cost savings by financial 2019.
Burberry will pay a final dividend of 37p, which is up 5% year-on-year. It also will launch a share buyback programme of up to GBP150 million in financial 2017, its current financial year.
"While we expect the challenging environment for the luxury sector to continue in the near term, we are firmly committed to making the changes needed to drive Burberry's future outperformance, underpinned by strong brand and business fundamentals," Chief Executive Christopher Bailey said in a statement.
"We continue to see significant opportunities ahead of us and have put ambitious plans in place to increase future revenue, enhance productivity and create a more efficient organisation," he added.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
Copyright 2016 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
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