Are investors looking forward to a change at Burberry (BRBY)? Possibly, if the results-driven bump in the share price is any indication. This marked the last set of numbers for current chief executive Christopher Bailey, who will give up that title to Marco Gobbetti in July. But as part of his closing comments, Mr Bailey said the foundations for future growth have already been laid.
First, a cost-saving programme is well under way. Last year the group clawed back £20m in annual savings, with £50m scheduled for FY2018 and at least £100m come FY2019. Management has also secured a new strategic partnership with beauty giant Coty to recharge growth for its cosmetics line.
But Mr Gobbetti still has a pretty hefty to-do list. Licensing and wholesale revenues dropped 48 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively, as a result of beauty de-stocking and poor US demand. And while retail sales fared better - up 3 per cent on an underlying basis - currency tailwinds accounted for much of the group-level sales growth.
Analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch expect EPS of 80.5p for the year ending March 2018, on consensus pre-tax profit of around £450m after currency effects, up from 77.4p in FY2017.
| BURBERRY (BRBY) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 1,680p | MARKET VALUE: | £7.37bn | |
| TOUCH: | 1,679-1,681p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,838p | LOW: 1,039p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.3% | PE RATIO: | 26 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 386p | NET CASH: | £809m | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 2.00 | 351 | 58.3 | 29.0 |
| 2014 | 2.33 | 444 | 73.6 | 32.0 |
| 2015 | 2.52 | 445 | 76.4 | 35.2 |
| 2016 | 2.51 | 416 | 70.0 | 37.0 |
| 2017 | 2.77 | 395 | 65.3 | 38.9 |
| % change | +10 | -5 | -7 | +5 |
Ex-div: 6 Jul Payment: 4 Aug | ||||
