Sharechat Logo

Kathmandu's Australian stores drive sales growth in first half

Tuesday 26th March 2013

Text too small?

Kathmandu, the outdoor equipment retailer, posted a 13 percent gain in first-half sales, driven by revenue from is biggest market of Australia.

Sales climbed to $165.9 million in the six months ended Jan. 31, from $146.7 million a year earlier, the Christchurch-based company said in a statement. Net profit rose to $4.3 million from $10.3 million.

The results are within the range the retailer first flagged on Feb. 1, which it attributed to faster sales growth and brand penetration in Australia. The company's gross margin was unchanged in the first half from a year earlier at 62.7 percent, which reflected flat margins in Australia and reduced margins in New Zealand and the UK.

The margin on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation widened to 12.6 percent from 11.6 percent as Kathmandu kept a lid on rising operating expenses, which fell to 50.1 percent of sales from 51.1 percent a year earlier.

Australian sales jumped 22 percent to $103.5 million as the company opened nine new stores across the Tasman. Same-store sales growth was 9.6 percent. New Zealand sales rose 7.9 percent to $50 million, or up 1.3 percent on a same-store basis. UK sales declined 4.7 percent to $3.4 million.

The company didn't give a full-year forecast, saying it was too soon to make a prediction ahead of Easter sales, one of its three major promotions in the year. The company expects to get 60 percent of sales and at least 70 percent of earnings in the second half and has previously said its full-year profit would beat the 2012 result.

Kathmandu will pay an interim dividend of 3 cents a share.

The shares rose 0.8 percent to $2.47 and have climbed 24 percent this year.

BusinessDesk.co.nz



  General Finance Advertising    

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:
Your name:
Your email:
Not displayed to the public
Comment:
Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved.

Related News:

Kathmandu shares rise to all-time high as analysts upgrade estimates after record annual profit
Kathmandu shares soar as retailer delivers record earnings, upbeat outlook
Kathmandu boosts 2013 profit 27 percent, expects solid performance in 2014
Kathmandu shares gain 2.2 percent as sales momentum remains through third quarter
Kathmandu lifts 1H profit by as much as 75 percent on Australian sales growth
Kathmandu first-quarter sales rise 19.5 percent
Kathmandu FY profit falls 11% though second-half performance improves
Kathmandu 1H profit plunges on shrinking margins
Kathmandu lifts sales 16% in 15 weeks ended mid-November
Kathmandu quadruples annual profit on strong sales, no IPO costs