Bos Glb Hldgs Regulatory News (BOS)

17 Jun 2005 07:00

Body Shop International PLC17 June 2005 The Body Shop International PLC AGM Statement 17 June 2005 The following statement will be made at today's Annual General Meeting by PeterSaunders, Chief Executive Officer: "In the first quarter of the current year, total retail sales were up by 8%,with comparable store sales up by 5%. These positive trends are in line withthose seen in the first eight weeks of the year, as reported with ourPreliminary Results announcement. Sales through The Body Shop At Home grew by12% in the first quarter. Group turnover was up 23% on the same period lastyear. Sales Performance by Region (First quarter to 28 May 2005): Total Retail Sales Comparable Store Sales Americas +5% -1%Asia Pacific +12% +8%Europe. Middle East & Africa +6% +6%UK & Republic of Ireland +6% +6%Total +8% +5% In the Americas region, the comparable store sales trend of -1% reflects flatsales in the USA, together with a decline of 3% in Canada. Asia Pacificcontinued to perform well, with comparable store sales growth of 18% in SouthEast Asia and 15% in Taiwan. The trend in Japan improved from +2% in the lastfull year to +7% in the first quarter of the current year, whilst in Korea thedecline moved from -8% to -3%. In the European, Middle East and Africa region,the strong comparable store sales performance in the Middle East continued at12%, whilst the Nordic countries improved to +13%. France, Spain and Germanyalso recorded improved trends with comparable store sales growth of 15%, 13% and6% respectively. In Italy, the decline moved from -8% in the last full year to-5% in the first quarter of the current year. In the UK, the positive trend hascontinued, with first quarter comparable store sales up by 7% on the same periodlast year. A net 17 stores were opened in the first quarter, bringing the total to 2,062across the four regions. We now have 18 stores reflecting the new store design. Our investment programme in the global implementation of SAP (an EnterpriseResource Planning system) has made significant progress over recent weeks. Thethird and most crucial module, incorporating the warehouse and financialinformation systems, was successfully introduced at the end of the first quarterand is now transitioning to full operation. We have also made good progress in our transition to International FinancialReporting Standards ("IFRS"). A restatement of our results for the financialyear to February 2005 and the half year to August 2004 will be published priorto our Interim Results for the six months to August 2005, which will beannounced on 13 October. We indicated in our Preliminary Results announcement that the first half of thecurrent year is expected to see a reduction of around 25% in underlyingoperating profit due to an increased seasonal bias towards the second half ofthe year. The acquisition of Benelux, which as advised will be earningsaccretive, will increase this first half decline somewhat due to the timing ofinitial integration costs. For the full year, we continue to plan a 15-20%growth in operating profit, with a somewhat slower growth in earnings due to anincrease in the tax rate." Definitions:Total retail sales - Sales to consumers through all stores, The Body Shop AtHome, mail order and the internet. Retail sales figures are stated at comparableexchange rates, with prior year figures being restated where appropriate. Comparable store sales - Sales by all stores which have been trading for morethan one year, excluding sales through pharmacy concessions. Turnover - Group revenue derived from a combination of retail sales (excludingsales taxes) through company-owned stores, The Body Shop At Home, mail order andthe internet, together with wholesale revenue and royalties from franchisees. For media enquiries, please contact: The Body Shop International PLCBill Eyres, Head of Global Corporate PRTel: 01903 844040 Brunswick GroupWilliam CullumTel: 020 7404 5959 For investor enquiries, please contact: Angela BawtreeTel: 01903 846333 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange