There was cheer for investors on Thursday as the company behind the Superdry clothing brand signalled its confidence in the future by paying a special dividend.
SuperGroup said pre-tax profits were up 16% at £73.5m as it attracted more female shoppers as well as male big spenders thanks to the high-end collaboration between Superdry, normally best known for its logoed hooded tops, jogging bottoms and checked shirts, and the actor Idris Elba. Sales rose more than a fifth to £590.1m in the year to 30 April.
The chief executive, Euan Sutherland, said the company was on its way to becoming a global lifestyle brand as it expands its womenswear collections and enters new markets such as sportswear. SuperGroup is also expanding internationally with ambitions to crack the notoriously tough US and Chinese markets in the coming year. “Notwithstanding the current economic uncertainty, we remain well placed [to succeed],” he said, adding it was “making good early progress” in the two countries.
SuperGroup, which listed on the London stock market six years ago, paid its first ever dividend at the half-year stage. The final dividend of 17p a share combined with the 20p special payout are worth a total of £30m to shareholders. “With high confidence in the brand and our strategy we will pay our first special dividend at the same time as the final ordinary dividend,” said Sutherland. Shares closed up nearly 17% at £15.65, the biggest riser of the day on the FTSE 250 index.
The collapse of sterling is bad news for retailers that source goods in dollars. Sutherland said SuperGroup was hedged against the dollar for the next 18 months but it would be affected if the weakness persists as about 50% of the goods it imports are paid for in the currency. On the other hand the firm benefits from a positive sales translation effect because 55% of its revenue is from outside the UK. “I think relative to other players we’re better placed,” he said.
At baby goods retailer Mothercare, bad weather was blamed for a slowdown in its UK sales in recent weeks, which prompted it to bring its end-of-season sale forward. In the UK, like-for-like sales rose 1.2% in the 15 weeks to 9 July, down from the 2.1% growth reported in the previous quarter.
The Mothercare boss, Mark Newton-Jones, said: “We have not seen any immediate consumer reaction to the Brexit vote, but it is too early to call as we went into the end-of-season sale early. We hedge both dollar purchases and royalty receipts and we expect limited impact on our financial results this year.”
