Mulberry pre-tax profits triple to GBP15.6 million

The British luxury brand recorded pre-tax profits of £15.6 million, up from £4.7 million in the previous year, as total revenues rose 62% to £72.3 million. Shares were 5% higher following the results. The company, which designs, makes and sells

leather goods and accessories, posted pretax profit of 15.6 million pounds ($24.5 million) in the six months to September 30, up 231 percent. That compares with 12 million pounds forecast by Altium Securities, reported Reuters. Market expectations range between 28 million and 30 million pounds for the full year, with the average forecast at 29.5 million, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Hence, Mulberry, which has 86 stores and concessions worldwide, including 44 in the UK, posted a 44% increase in like-for-like retail sales in the six months to September as customers took to the new autumn/winter collection.

John Cummins, analyst at Altium Securities, said there was more growth to come as Mulberry was "only just scratching the surface" in many luxury goods markets outside the UK and was under-represented globally.

The company opened five new stores in the Asia-Pacific region in the first six months, as well as a flagship store in New York, in the fashionable Soho district. Godfrey Davis, chairman and chief executive, said: "Our strategy to focus on international expansion continues to bear fruit. Against the backdrop of economic uncertainty, Mulberry continues to build market share internationally and we remain cautiously optimistic about the future prospects of the business."

Mulberry said its online sales were ahead 52% at £4.8 million, representing 7% of group sales, and it plans to upgrade its website by the end of the next financial year. In the same vein, international revenue more than doubled to 29.4 million pounds and that wholesale shipments grew 93 percent.

"Asia is the fastest-growing market, but actually we still have plenty of areas to penetrate in Europe and the States, so those are growing very strongly as well. We like to spread the risk," CEO of the company told Reuters on Thursday. "It's incredibly reasonable to expect growth from Mulberry unless economic conditions become absolutely dire ... that's why
we have reasonable confidence, but we're not foolhardy," Davis said.