Briscoe profits leap 80pc to $21m

Rebel Sport, one of the main retail brands of the Briscoe Group, which has reported a full year profit up 80pc. Photo / Bay of Plenty Times

Retailer Briscoe Group has lifted its full year net profits 80.7 per cent to $21 million, on sales revenue up 7.3 per cent to $416.7m.

The result - for the period from January 26, 2009 to January 31, 2010 - incorporated an additional week's trading in comparison to the 52-week period the previous year but was net of $1.86m in asset impairment adjustments related to its 'Living & Giving' specialty homeware stores, the company said today.

Other store chains in the group are Briscoes Homeware, Rebel Sport, and Urban Loft.

A final dividend of 5c per share is to be paid, up from last year's final dividend of 3.5cps.

Group managing director Rod Duke said the result came in a market environment of continued global economic uncertainty and only a partial recovery in overall retail spending.

Briscoe Group was continuing to benefit from key strategic and structural initiatives recently put in place, said Duke.

In particular, the result had benefited from the positive ways store management and the support team had responded to an operational structure introduced at the beginning of the 2009-10 year, and to the cost and inventory management improvements made during the second half of the previous year.

On a same-store basis, and adjusted for the 53-week year, sales rose by 4.7 per cent for the group, with the homeware segment up 4.2 per cent and sporting goods up 6 per cent.

Inventories totalled $63.4m at year-end, up $5.9m on last year, reflecting a realignment of inventory levels for the increased consumer demand experienced during the second half of 2009-10 as stronger sales trends for the group emerged, Briscoe said.

Trade and other payables at year end were $33.2m, the $17.2m reduction from last year being a function of the later financial year-end date for the current year.

Duke said that although economic indicators were still difficult to read, Briscoe was cautiously optimistic it would continue to build on improvements in operating and financial performance made through 2009-10.

Briscoe shares closed at $1.35 yesterday, just down from the year high of $1.37 last month.

- NZPA