Baby Bunting Group shares are up eight per cent cent after the baby product retailer reported an encouraging start in the early weeks of 2024/25 after a lacklustre prior year.
Baby Bunting on Tuesday reported a total sales growth of 3.5 per cent and like-for-like store sales growth of two per cent in the first seven weeks since July 1.
Chief executive Mark Teperson said that strategic growth initiatives announced in June, which included a simplified pricing structure, renegotations with suppliers and a focus on exclusive brand partnerships, were starting to pay off.
For the previous financial year, Baby Bunting's sales down were 3.4 per cent to $498.4 million, with comparable store sales down 6.3 per cent, which Baby Bunting said reflected the challenging and changing consumer-led sector due to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
Gross profit was down 4.8 per cent to $183.7 million, which Mr Teperson said reflected the increased margin pressure in key hard good categories.
The retailer reported a statutory net profit of $1.7 million, down from $9.9 million in 2023.
Late on Tuesday afternoon Baby Bunting shares were up 8.0 per cent to $1.6475, still down 17.8 per cent for the year.
