Kathmandu net profit up 55%
Cold weather and successful new stores contribute to profit jump.
Listed retailer Kathmandu (NZX:KMD) has achieved a big profit increase despite tough times for the retail sector.
The adventure clothing and outdoor company has announced a net profit of $39.1 million for the year ended July 31, up 55% on last year’s $25.2 million profit (excluding IPO costs).
The profit improvement came on the back of a 32.0% increase in ebit to $64.0 million.
It also achieved record sales of $306.1 million, a 24.5% increase from last year, with same store sales growth of 15.7% (12.9% at constant exchange rates).
“We have achieved double digit same store sales growth in both Australia and New Zealand, and improved margins despite the well publicised difficult economic environment and the resulting impact on consumer demand in all our markets”, says Kathmandu chief executive Peter Halkett.
“Our 14 new stores opened during the year have all performed very well and we see continued growth opportunities for Kathmandu as we expand our retail footprint and introduce new products and an updated brand identity to the market over the next year.”
He says, “As we commented in the trading update last month, we made a substantial investment in inventory in FY11, which was a key factor in Kathmandu’s sales growth throughout the year.
“We were able to meet demand throughout our three key promotional periods, whereas in the previous year we were challenged by limited stock availability, particularly during our Winter sale.
“We also benefited from colder weather patterns through the second half year, especially in Australia for our Easter sale.”
Commenting on Kathmandu's outlook, Mr Halkett says, “our key growth strategies are working and delivered solid sales and profit growth this year despite a tough environment, so the 2012 financial year is really about more of the same”.
Niko Kloeten
Wed, 21 Sep 2011
Wed, 21 Sep 2011
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Kathmandu net profit up 55%
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