Super Retail Group’s profit soars

 

Peter BirtlesSport and leisure goods retailer Super Retail Group’s first-half net profit has soared 65.7 per cent to $74.4 million compared to the previous corresponding period when it was hit with an impairment charge related to its Ray’s Outdoors business.

The company said previous first-half net profit was $44.9 million while normalised net profit for the six months to December 26, 2015, was $58.9 million after adjusting for the Ray’s impairment

Revenue for the six months to December 31, 2016, jumped 6.6 per cent to $1.29 billion and the company will pay a fully franked interim dividend of 21.5 cents per share, up 1.5 cents.

Super Retail Group’s auto and sports divisions continue to perform strongly, the company announced, with segment earnings before interest and tax growth of 10.1 per cent and 19.5 per cent respectively. The leisure division delivered an EBIT growth of 53.7 per cent.

Peter Birtles, Super Retail Group managing director and CEO, said the results were built on the momentum that they have established in the second half of the 2016 financial year.

“We continue to make good progress in the key initiatives outlined in the plan we implemented in May 2015 to lift both compound annual earnings per share growth and return on capital back above 15 per cent,” Birtles said.

“The restructuring undertaken in the 2015 and 2016 financial years is delivering a positive outcome with a much improved performance from the leisure division and the elimination of loss making businesses within the sports division,” he added.

Birtles said the group has had a solid start to the second half with each division delivering positive like for like sales growth.

He said they are planning to open around 12 new stores in the second half, adding that they are confident they would be able to deliver continued sales growth across all their brands.

“Through leveraging the combined strength and synergies offered through our group structure, we are confident that we will be able to deliver continued sales growth across all brands, with improvements in profitability driven by investment in new and refurbished stores, omni retail capabilities, and supply chain and operating model efficiencies,” said Birtles.

“The macro trend towards solutions and services continue to reinforce our strong market position and leave us well-placed to capture the revenue, customer and margin growth offered by the shift from products towards the solutions-centric offering that’s already well underway across the group’s unique portfolio of iconic leisure brands”.

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