A surge in domestic retail sales - up 9 per cent on a like-for-like basis - has helped luxury handbag maker Mulberry (MUL) move firmly into the black. This movement, and further efficiency measures which pushed gross margins up from 60.5 per cent to 62 per cent, saw adjusted pre-tax profit rise by a half to £6.8m. Earnings net of tax also moved into positive territory.
Onlookers might want to credit new creative director Johnny Coca with the recent recovery, but his first collection wasn't even revealed until February - just one month before the period end. Customers have only just started buying the respected designer's new designs in the past few weeks, and only by the end of August will clients have access to the full range of Mr Coca's Autumn/Winter collection.
In the meantime, Mulberry bosses say current trading at the start of the new financial year remains strong, with total retail sales up 9 per cent, or 4 per cent on a like-for-like basis.
Analysts at Barclays expect EPS of 10p for the year ending March 2017 compared to 5p in FY2016.
| MULBERRY (MUL) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 1,025p | MARKET VALUE: | £608m | |
| TOUCH: | 1,025-1,048p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,050p | LOW: 825p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.5% | PE RATIO: | 228 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 135p | NET CASH: | £14m | |
| Year to 31 March | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 168 | 36.0 | 43.9 | 5.0 |
| 2013 | 165 | 26.0 | 32.2 | 5.0 |
| 2014 | 163 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 5.0 |
| 2015 | 149 | 1.9 | -2.3 | 5.0 |
| 2016 | 156 | 6.2 | 4.5 | 5.0 |
| % change | +5 | +234 | - | - |
Ex-div: 27 Oct Payment: 24 Nov | ||||
