It was a rollercoaster year for luxury handbag maker Mulberry (MUL). Retail sales fell 9 per cent in the first half in the wake of a disastrous decision by previous chief executive Bruno Guillon to raise prices, but bounced back 9 per cent in the second half - after the strategy was abandoned - to finish the year up 1 per cent at £110m. Meanwhile, revenue from the wholesale division fell by nearly a third to £38.8m.
The current financial year is off to a much better start under new chief executive Thierry Andretta. Total retail sales were up 17 per cent in the 10 weeks to 6 June, with like-for-like sales up 15 per cent, although this partly reflects the very weak comparative figures. Digital sales have been particularly strong, up 40 per cent.
But the top-line recovery has come at the expense of margins. Stripping out impairment charges for loss-making retail outlets and a £1.2m golden parachute for Mr Guillon, pre-tax profit fell from £17.4m to £4.5m last year. And operating expenses will rise further this year as a result of recently opened stores, West End rent reviews and the cost of the new senior management team.
Analysts at Barclays expect pre-tax profit of £6m for the current financial year to March 2016, giving EPS of 5.6p.
| MULBERRY (MUL) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 915p | MARKET VALUE: | £549m | |
| TOUCH: | 902-915p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 935p | LOW: 563p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.5% | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 131p | NET CASH: | £9.9m | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 122 | 23.0 | 29.8 | 4.0 |
| 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 |
| % change | -9 | -87 | - | - |
Ex-div: 29 Oct Payment: 26 Nov | ||||
