Ted Baker regains US soil and rise pre-tax profit to £24 2m

Ted Baker released Thursday its yearly results for 2010, which ended up thanks to a stronger performance across the group, which resulted in a 14.7% increase in its revenue to £187.7m and a 24.2% increase in profit before tax to £24.2m.

The retail division delivered an increase in revenue of 11.9% to £152.7m on a 7.4% increase in average retail square footage. Sales in the UK and Europe retail division were up 8.2% to £136.7, compared to last year´s £126.4m. A good performance in the UK was supported by improved trading conditions in Europe.

Wholesale sales for the Group increased by 28.9% to £35.0m.This was driven by the re-launch of the US wholesale business, under Ted Baker´s own management, and a good performance in British soil. Across The Pond, the retail division increased by 29.6%, against a difficult comparative period, to $20.6m. Towards the end of the year they launched the US transactional website and “are pleased with its progress at this early stage,” as the company advanced in a communication.

On overall, the smart youth clothing chain is happy with their year, but anticipates that 2011 will be a challenging year given the economic outlook. To face the uprising raw materials costs and narrowing margins, Ted Baker confides in its consumer’s positive reaction to the Spring/Summer collections. “There has been much discussion on the pressures on consumer spending, but we believe that we are well positioned to meet these challenges due to the strength of the Ted Baker brand and collections. We continue to manage the risks arising from exchange rate fluctuations and rising input prices in order to minimize the impact on our business.”

Ray Kelvin, Founder and Chief Executive, summed up the annual report congratulating his team for the “Group’s excellent performance is testament to the strength of the Ted Baker brand, with design, quality and attention to detail at the heart of everything we do. We have continued carefully to expand the brand internationally and, supported by our strong balance sheet, will build on this momentum in 2011, with new store openings in the first half of the year including Paris, Hong Kong and Manchester. We have been pleased by the customer response to our Spring/Summer collections, both in the UK and internationally. Whilst the economic outlook for 2011 is uncertain, we have demonstrated in previous years our ability to trade through more difficult times and are confident that we are well placed to continue to do so”.