Briscoe Group shares surge on record profit in 'rollercoaster' year of pandemic

Tuesday, 16 March 2021

Briscoe Group managing director Rod Duke says the past year has been “a retail rollercoaster”.

Shares in Briscoe Group were the biggest gainer on the New Zealand stock exchange after the retailer posted a record annual profit in a “rollercoaster” year as online sales surged during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company, which includes Briscoes Homeware, Rebel Sport, and Living & Giving, said profit jumped 17 per cent to $73.2 million in the year ended on January 31, in line with its forecast of more than $70m. The company’s share price surged 6.2 per cent to $5.84 a share.

The result includes an extra week as the company has to realign its financial calendar every five to six years. However, it doesn’t include any benefits from the company’s Kathmandu investments, which provided a $9.5m boost the previous year.

Retailers such as Briscoe Group have benefited from a bounce-back in sales after last year’s nationwide lockdown as restrictions on overseas travel and pent-up demand prompted shoppers to open their wallets. The company’s online sales surged 80 per cent to make up 18.8 per cent of sales, from 11.3 per cent the previous year.

* Briscoe third-quarter sales rise 15%; retailer upbeat heading into Christmas

* 'Unparalleled demand' delivers strong result for Briscoes

“We are pleased to announce record sales and profit for Briscoe Group in a year truly like no other,” managing director Rod Duke said. “Navigating the twists and turns encountered this year really has been like riding a retail rollercoaster.”

Duke said the group’s online business experienced “extraordinary growth” with the move to the national lockdown in March, and it continued to produce strong growth throughout the remainder of the year.

The massive disruption to trading from Covid-19 accelerated the company’s plans to lift its margin through better planning and buying, the use of data analytics for seasonal trading events, improving the flow of inventory and reducing the level of discounted clearance products, he said.

Briscoe Group’s gross profit margin lifted to 43.76 per cent, from 39.43 per cent the previous year.

It held $100.4m of cash at the end of the year, up from $67.4m at the same time the previous year.

Briscoe Group will pay shareholders a final dividend of 13.5 cents on March 31, taking the total dividend for the year to 28.5c.

The company paid a special dividend of 6c a share, worth about $13m, in January, after it cancelled a $28m dividend last March due to uncertainty about the impact of Covid-19. It came under criticism for paying an interim dividend of $20.3m from its first-half profit after having taken $11.5m in wage subsidy payments, but later repaid the subsidy in full in October.

Chairwoman Rosanne Meo said the company had endeavoured to balance the interests of all stakeholder groups, including its staff, customers, suppliers and shareholders. No workers were made redundant due to Covid-19.