By
Reuters
Published
Jun 14, 2012
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Overseas sales propel Mulberry's profit

By
Reuters
Published
Jun 14, 2012

British luxury fashion company Mulberry Group Plc's full-year profit surged 54 percent as its international sales continued to race ahead.


Mulberry's Del Rey bag / Photo: Mulberry


The company, which designs, manufactures and sells leather goods and accessories, said retail sales rose 12 percent for the 10 weeks to June 9, with comparable sales from UK full-price stores up 14 percent.

Mulberry, which has 55 international stores, said it targeted 15 to 20 more stores overseas for the current financial year.

The luxury goods industry has been performing well despite economic uncertainty around the world. Strong growth in emerging markets and the tendency of increasingly affluent Asian shoppers to splurge on luxury goods have boosted sales.

The maker of high-end handbags such as the Del Rey and the Alexa bag, raised its final dividend by 25 percent to 5 pence per share.

April-March pretax profit rose to 36 million pounds ($56.1 million) from 23.3 million pounds a year ago.

Revenue jumped 38 percent to 168.5 million pounds.

International sales, which accounts for 39 percent of total revenue, grew 61 percent to 65.2 million pounds.

Like-for-like retail sales increased 26 percent, while wholesale shipments to third parties were up 43 percent.

The company's shares, which have gained 34 percent since the start of the year, closed at 2,013 pence on Wednesday on the London Stock Exchange.

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