Dusk burns bright following ‘volatile’ 2020

(Source: Bigstock)

Dusk Group bas delivered strong growth in the past nine months, the candle-maker revealed on Friday, with sales more than doubling and underlying EBIT up 33.2 per cent.

The primary driver of this success was particularly strong like-for-like sales growth, up 44 per cent during the third quarter, and an increase in gross margin of approximately 400 basis points.

“Our results, including the strong performance of new stores and the contribution of our online channel, are testament to our teams focus on execution and the growth appeal of our product offering to an expanding customer base,” said chief executive Peter King.

“Looking forward to Q4 FY21, we cycle a volatile period in the prior corresponding period where our stores were closed through April 2020 and progressively reopened.”

As a result of this, Dusk is expecting a strong boost on last year’s figures during the following quarter – with sales figures likely to reach between $147 million to $151 million, compared to the $100.9 million reached a year prior.

EBIT is expected to triple to between $38 million and $40 million from $11.9 million.

“When we couple these factors with a buoyant macro environment, which includes strong consumer confidence, continued re-allocation of household budgets away from international travel, low interest rates and our customers heightened focus on their homes, we expect to see a favourable trading environment continuing for some time yet,” King said.

You have 7 articles remaining. Unlock 15 free articles a month, it’s free.