Supergroup shocks with profit warning
SUPERGROUP, the owner of fashion label Superdry, surprised the City yesterday after it warned that a slowdown in sales meant full-year profits would be at the bottom end of expectations.
The retailer said that after a solid Christmas trading period, with like-for-like sales up 9.3 per cent in December, “there has been a slowdown in the last three weeks of January”.
Supergroup added it had seen “variable performance” over the quarter, hit largely by aggressive discounting among other high street shops.
It said it “now expects profit before tax for the full-year to be towards the lower end of the range of market expectations”.
This suggests profits will come in below consensus forecasts of £52.6m. Analysts had been expecting profits of between £50m and £54.1m after the group issued a previous profit warning in October.
The news sent shares tumbling more the 17 per cent, closing at 579.5p last night. Supergroup was one of 2010’s most successful stock market flotations.
Listing at 500p, the shares rocketed to a high of 1,899p in February last year before suffering a reversal of fortune last summer, when it reported problems with its warehousing system.
The high street brand – which boasts celebrity customers including David Beckham – opened four new stores in the quarter, and now has 76 shops and 74 concessions.
During the thirteen weeks to 29 January, retail sales increased by 27.8 per cent to £78.5m compared with the same period last year, with like-for-like sales increasing 4.4 per cent.