19th Mar 2015 10:48
LONDON (Alliance News) - Ted Baker PLC Thursday reported further growth in profit and sales in its last financial year, and said it plans to open more stores in the year ahead.
Pretax profit grew 25.3% to GBP48.8 million in the year ended January 31, from GBP38.9 million a year earlier, as revenue grew 20.4% to GBP387.6 million, from GBP321.9 million. It raised its total dividend for the year to 40.3 pence per share from 33.7p.
The fashion retailer has been having a successful few years, as the brand has continued to expand internationally leveraging its British identity, and has kept its strategy of not discounting its goods and by using word of mouth rather than expensive marketing campaigns to promote itself.
"This was another excellent year as we continued to develop Ted Baker as a leading lifestyle brand across global markets and distribution channels," Chief Executive Ray Kelvin said in a statement.
"We continue to invest in the brand as we develop in new markets where we see long term growth. All the while, we remain totally focused on the quality, design and attention to detail which underpins every area of the Group," he added.
Ted Baker currently has 398 stores and concessions worldwide, comprising 183 in the UK, 83 in Europe, 75 in the US and Canada, 50 in the Middle East and Asia and seven in Australasia.
It plans to open two new stores in the UK, four stores and three outlets in the US, one new store in Amsterdam, and further concessions in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain during the current year. It is also opening its first street level store in Hong Kong at the end of April and further concessions in China and South Korea.
Ted Baker also said its product and territorial licences continue to perform well, with licence income growing 31.2% to GBP11.7 million from GBP8.9 million, and further openings planned in Azerbaijan, Dubai, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand in the new financial year.
Group wholesale sales increased 28.5% to GBP80.7 million from GBP62.8 million. "Our wholesale business is delivering a strong performance that is in line with our expectations. We anticipate further growth across our wholesale businesses, which should result in high single digit growth in sales in the coming year," Chairman David Bernstein said.
Capital expenditure in the last financial year was GBP25.7 million, up from GBP18.1 a year earlier, due to the opening and refurbishment of stores, investment in new systems and a new e-commerce platform for the US site. It expects to keep capex at the same level in the current year.
Ted Baker shares were down 3.17% at 2,727.60 pence, having hit an all-time high on Wednesday ahead of the results.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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