Quintessentially British retailer Laura Ashley's winning set of half-year numbers extended Team GB's summer of glory. Profit nudged past forecasts, management maintained the chunky dividend and momentum has carried over into the second half. The shares may have risen sharply this month, but more could be on the way.
An extra 18 overseas franchised stores and 21 per cent growth in online sales were key to a 14 per cent jump in underlying pre-tax profit. Two more Laura Ashley outlets in Russia and others in Japan, Taiwan and Australia meant franchise revenue jumped 15 per cent to £13.7m. And that should keep growing given that chief operating officer Seán Anglim expects a deal in China "sooner rather than later". Improvements to the website and new iPhone and Android apps also made it easier for shoppers to spend their money online - e-commerce revenue hit £20.4m during the period. UK sales rose 6.1 per cent, or 3.9 per cent like for like, to £127.5m and strong end-of-season sales have spilled over into the second half. However, deep discounting in January and numerous special offers did crimp gross margin by 250 basis points.
Broker Seymour Pierce is cautious on the outlook and, with the crucial Christmas period to come, has kept full-year forecasts unchanged - at pre-tax profit of £20m, giving EPS of 2p.
LAURA ASHLEY (ALY) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 24.3p | MARKET VALUE: | £181m | |
| TOUCH: | 24.3-24.8p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 25p | Low: 18p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 8.2% | PE RATIO: | 13 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 8p | NET CASH: | £27.8m | |
| Half-year to 28 Jul | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 135 | 7.00 | 0.73 | 1.00 |
| 2012 | 145 | 8.30 | 0.85 | 1.00 |
| % change | +7 | +19 | +16 | - |
Ex-div: 3 Oct Payment: 30 Oct | ||||
