Fashion chain hopes to add at least 110 stores over the next 12 months after profit increases 66.5pc
Fashion retailer Esprit Holdings plans to spend about $900 million adding at least 110 retail stores totalling 40,000 square metres to its distribution network in the next 12 months, according to chief financial officer John Poon Cho-ming.
The retailer, which now owns 630 retail stores and more than 9,700 points of sale, released its full-year results to June yesterday, which showed revenue jumped 26 per cent over last year to $20.63 billion while net profit surged 66.5 per cent to $3.33 billion.
It declared a final dividend of 66 cents per share and a special dividend of 84 cents per share, up 37.5 per cent and 68 per cent respectively and representing a full-year payout ratio of 70 per cent.
Revenue from the retail business rose 31 per cent to $8.5 billion while earnings before interest and tax soared 79 per cent to $917 million.
Germany accounted for 50 per cent of the retail sales and achieved 28 per cent growth over last year. Revenue from the rest of Europe increased 53 per cent and Hong Kong's retail operation returned to profit, Esprit said.
Across all geographies, the profit margin of the group's retail business grew about two percentage points to 10 per cent.
