Paris - Burberry Group PLC, the British maker of $1 895 trenchcoats, said second-half sales gained 10 percent, led by growth in the Americas and advances in digital shopping.
Revenue rose to 1.42 billion pounds ($2.1 billion) in the six months through March, London-based Burberry said on Wednesday, broadly meeting analyst estimates. A 9-percent gain in comparable sales at the company’s stores beat predictions.
Strong domestic and traveler demand in Europe and the Americas boosted sales at a time when growth in the Asia-Pacific region was held back by declining revenue in Hong Kong, the company said. Comparable sales in the city fell by a mid-single digit percentage in the wake of protests there and as China’s clampdown on graft extends beyond the mainland.
“There is still volatility in certain markets, but there is nothing to suggest Burberry won’t continue delivering strong levels of growth in the short- to medium-term,” Paul Thomas, an analyst at consultant Retail Remedy, said by email.
The shares rose 1.5 percent 1,810 pence at 8.12am in London, extending their gain this year to 10 percent.
Burberry said its digital business outperformed in all regions after it plowed more money into digital initiatives.
The company is also increasing investment in its stores and plans to open as many as 20 “mainline” outlets this year, which it expects will contribute low single-digit percentage growth to retail revenue. Wholesale revenue will be broadly unchanged at about 317 million pounds in the six months through September, excluding foreign-exchange shifts, Burberry said.
After currencies wiped about 25 million pounds off last year’s earnings, current exchange rates would add about 50 million pounds this year, the company predicted.
Bloomberg