Suits and formal wear specialist Moss Bros (MOSB) bucked the high-street trend by reporting a 5.3 per cent improvement in like-for-like sales for the reported period. Retail sales rose 6 per cent, while hire sales rose 1.5 per cent on the same basis. Online sales also grew by nearly 16 per cent which, along with an improvement in gross margins, helped lift pre-tax profits by more than a fifth. Chief executive Brian Brick said margin growth came from fewer promotions, although the business remains promotion-led, offering a range of deals to customers throughout the year.
A later Easter has resulted in a slower start to the current financial year for the hire business. The number of orders booked - a "key metric" according to finance director Tony Bennett - is off 1 per cent year on year. But by the time the company reports half-year results, bosses say timing issues will have normalised.
Analysts at Peel Hunt expect pre-tax profits of £7.2m for the year ending January 2018, giving EPS of 5.6p, compared with £6.9m and 5.2p in FY2017.
| MOSS BROS (MOSB) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 101p | MARKET VALUE: | £102m | |
| TOUCH: | 100-103p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 111p | LOW: 89p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 5.8% | PE RATIO: | 18 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 37p | NET CASH: | £19.5m | |
| Year to 28 Jan | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 105 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 0.90 |
| 2014 | 109 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 5.00 |
| 2015 | 115 | 4.8 | 3.6 | 5.30 |
| 2016 | 121 | 5.8 | 4.7 | 5.55 |
| 2017 | 128 | 7.1 | 5.5 | 5.89 |
| % change | +6 | +22 | +18 | +6 |
Ex-div:01 Jun Payment:23 Jun | ||||
