Laura Ashley's (ALY) fashion clothing sales may have struggled during 2012, but the group delivered decent sales growth at its home accessories, furniture and decorating operations - helped by e-commerce progress and overseas shops. Overall, therefore, group like-for-like sales rose 2 per cent in the year.
Home delivery to new European markets, a mobile site and the introduction of a 'click and collect' service sent web sales soaring 19.6 per cent to £42.2m. Moreover, an additional 21 franchised stores were opened overseas across 28 countries, boosting international revenues by 13.3 per cent to £27.1m. Management is now looking for new franchise partners in China, India, South America and South Africa and has signed agreements with partners in Poland, Armenia and the Baltic states. New categories such as conservatory furniture helped lift licensing sales 17 per cent to £4.2m, too.
Meanwhile, home accessories was the star performer at the UK retail arm - although the clothing collection failed to resonate with consumers. Finance director Sean Anglim puts the 4.8 per cent underlying fall in sales there down to "getting the colours wrong" for the autumn collection - shades were too dark for the unseasonably warm weather.
Citing a difficult trading outlook, however, broker Cantor Fitzgerald Europe has cut its pre-tax profit estimate by £1m to £21m for end-January 2014, giving EPS of 2.14p.
| LAURA ASHLEY (ALY) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 30p | MARKET VALUE: | £224m | |
| TOUCH: | 29-30p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 30p | LOW: 21p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 6.7% | PE RATIO: | 15 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 8p | NET CASH: | £34.6m | |
| Year to 26 Jan | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 261 | 10.2 | 0.97 | 1.25 |
| 2010 | 268 | 11.0 | 0.80 | 1.00 |
| 2011 | 285 | 24.1 | 2.65 | 1.50 |
| 2012 | 286 | 18.4 | 1.79 | 2.00 |
| 2013 | 299 | 20.1 | 2.02 | 2.00 |
| % change | +5 | +9 | +13 | - |
Ex-div: 12 Jun Payment: 12 Jul | ||||
