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LONDON (Alliance News) - Mulberry Group PLC on Thursday reported growth in profit in its recently ended financial year, boosted by growth in retail sales, with revenue growth continuing into the current financial year.
The luxury handbag maker said pretax profit in the year ended March 31 multiplied to GBP6.2 million from GBP1.9 million the year before, as revenue rose by 5% to GBP155.9 million from GBP148.7 million.
Of this, retail sales grew to GBP118.7 million from GBP109.9 million and by 8% on a like-for-like basis, but wholesale sales slipped to GBP37.2 million from GBP38.8 million.
Mulberry said the wholesale business was hit by local market conditions in Asia, as well as by action taken to improve the quality and image of the wholesale distribution network. Retail sales grew both in the UK and abroad.
Mulberry will pay a dividend of 5 pence per share for the year, which is flat on the prior year.
Mulberry added that total retail sales in the 11 weeks ended June 11 were up 9% year-on-year and by 4% on a like-for-like basis.
"We have built a strong foundation for future growth as a result of the investment made in product design and development as well as our omni-channel infrastructure. Looking forward, we will invest further in developing exciting new product, whilst continuing to engage with our core UK and growing international customer base," Chief Executive Thierry Andretta said in a statement.
Shares in Mulberry were trading up 0.6% at 1,031.00p on Thursday morning.
By Karolina Kaminska; karolinakaminska@alliancenews.com @KarolinaAllNews
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