Hallensteins profit falls, cuts dividend to 18 cents per share

Hallensteins, the company behind Glassons, has reported a 40 per cent dip in first-half earnings. Photo / NZ Herald

Australasian clothing retailer Hallenstein Glasson has cut its dividend after its net profit fell by 40 per cent to $11.9 million in the first half.

Hallensteins, whose trading was severely disrupted by Covid-19 lockdowns, declared an interim dividend of 18 cents per share, down from 23c in the previous corresponding period.

The company said its balance sheet continued to be strong and said its inventories were well controlled.

Sales for the six months to February 1 came to $170.6m, down 6.2 per cent over the corresponding period last year.

Gross margin on sales was 57.9 per cent compared with 56.5 per cent.

Hallensteins said the margin improvement came with better prices negotiated with suppliers and more favourable exchange rates, but partially offset by increased freight costs resulting from the ongoing global impact of Covid-19.

Additional cost controls were implemented during the period, reducing operating costs and inventory levels were well managed to preserve liquidity.

Covid-19 resulted in 5432 lost trading days because of the various lockdowns across New Zealand and Australia.

Where stores were unable to trade because of the various lockdowns, the group had entered negotiations for rent relief support from landlords.

While some negotiations have been resolved, others are ongoing.

Digital sales increased to 32.8 per cent of total group sales for the six-month period, up from 23.8 per cent in the same period last year.

There was an increased focus on digital marketing across the group to drive engagement across all channels.

The Glassons App continued to be successful, gaining more than 500,000 downloads.
Significant work had also been undertaken on the Hallensteins website.

The trading environment for the first seven weeks of the winter season had remained challenging, with the Omicron outbreak in full swing in New Zealand, and still present but appearing to be past its peak in Australia.

Group sales for the first seven weeks of the winter season are 0.5 per cent ahead of the same period last year.

"The business remains hopeful that the worst of the Omicron outbreak will soon be behind us and is looking forward to a stronger finish to the financial year," the company said.