Premier Investments has seen its streak of strong results continue, with net profit up 88.9 per cent to $204.9 million (AU$188.2 million) during the first half of FY21.
Global sales rose 7.2 per cent to $854 million, while the retail conglomerate’s gross margin soared 286 basis points, driving EBIT up 88.5 per cent to $258.9 million.
Chairman Solomon Lew put it down to the “skills and dedication of [Premier’s] entire global team”.
“To have delivered these record results in a very difficult volatile environment is a truly outstanding achievement,” Lew said.
Stationery retailer Smiggle saw growth, with like-for-like sales in Australia up 4.7 per cent and 9.2 per cent in New Zealand.
Internationally, however, 17 Smiggle locations were shuttered in the UK, with a potential 16 more to close during the second half. This was done in an effort to position the business for “maximum EBIT”, according to Premier, and remaining stores saw leases renegotiated at a significantly lower percent of sales.
And, during the half, Peter Alexander saw record sales to $226 million, growing 43.4 per cent due to a strong Christmas period powered by full-priced sales.
This performance wasn’t unique to Peter Alexander, however, with most of Premier’s apparel businesses seeing such growth: Just Jeans sales rose 27.3 per cent, JayJays’ rose 28.8 per cent, Portmans’ rose 6.6 per cent, and Dotti’s rose 8.4 per cent. Only Jacqui E saw sales decline during the half, down 2.5 per cent.
