"We've had two years growth in one," said Mulberry chairman and chief executive Godfrey Davis, after the designer handbags business reported its seventh successive year of sales growth.
That achievement was all the more remarkable given the slow start to the year, which saw nervous wholesale customers pare back orders. That meant that when the recovery came, Mulberry didn't have enough stock to satisfy its wholesale customers, leaving wholesale revenues flat over the year.
But the predominately UK-based retail division saw underlying sales climb 35 per cent, and Mr Davis said growth rates so far this year have been broadly similar, helped along by popular products such as the 'Alexa' bag. And the wholesale business, which essentially encompasses overseas retail operations in places such as Korea and Singapore, has seen a significant increase orders in the new year - the order book for its Autumn collection climbed 84 per cent year-on-year, with Asian orders more than doubling. Mulberry is looking to take advantage of rising international demand by opening more self-operated stores overseas, and has bought two New York stores previously operated there by its partner.
Broker Altium has raised its 2011 pre-tax profit forecast by almost a third to £9.5m, meaning its EPS forecast climbs from 7.9p to 10.7p.
MULBERRY (MUL) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 225p | MARKET VALUE: | £132.5m | |
| TOUCH: | 224-239p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 240p | LOW: 64p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.0% | PE RATIO: | 43 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 45p | NET CASH: | £12.2m | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 43.4 | 6.13 | 9.89 | 1.00 |
| 2007 | 45.1 | 6.21 | 8.14 | 1.50 |
| 2008 | 51.2 | 5.20 | 6.00 | 2.00 |
| 2009 | 58.6 | 4.18 | 4.50 | 2.00 |
| 2010 | 72.1 | 5.10 | 5.20 | 2.20 |
| % change | +23 | +22 | +16 | +10 |
Ex-div: 21 Jul Payment: 20 Aug | ||||
