SuperGroup Plc

Q4 Interim Management Statement

 8 May 2014

SuperGroup Plc ("SuperGroup" or "the Group") today provides its interim management statement covering the period from 27 January to 26 April 2014 ("the period¹").

Group

Total Group sales for the period have increased 12.4% to £97.8m.  Whilst the Group experienced a more challenging Retail trading environment during the period, Wholesale has performed in line with the order book. The Group expects that due to the sales growth in the last period, profit for the full-year will be towards the lower end of consensus². Importantly, the Group has successfully implemented its significant infrastructure projects whilst at the same time delivering total revenue growth for the financial year to 26 April 2014 of 19.6%. The Group has now passed the peak of its infrastructure investment and is well placed for the year ahead.

Retail division

Total Retail sales in the period were up 13.3% at £54.6m. Like-for-like sales³, affected by the late Easter and product mix, were down 3.1% but, adjusted for the impact of reduced eBay sales, are down 1.3%. The lower level of clearance activity through eBay has delivered an improved gross margin. For the full financial year, sales have grown 17.7% to £285.4m and cumulative like-for-like growth is 3.2%, ( 4.4% on an underlying basis). The Group opened 100,000 square feet⁴ of new space, as planned, delivering year-on-year space growth of over 18%.

Wholesale division

Wholesale sales for the period increased 11.2% to £43.2m. This performance was impacted by the earlier phasing of sales falling into Q3. For the second half of the financial year, sales increased 22.0%, and rose 23.5% for the year as a whole. The Group has continued to extend the reach of the Superdry brand, having opened further franchised stores in France, India, Czech Republic, Italy and Indonesia.

Infrastructure

The merchandising management system was successfully launched at the end of March and the relocation of the Group's retail warehousing operation is now complete. These projects have been concluded with minimal disruption. All Retail inventory, including e-commerce, is now being dispatched from the new distribution centre. The Group has now entered its second phase of planned investment which includes payroll, human resources, finance and a point of sale system. There will be an update on progress at the time of the preliminary results.

Julian Dunkerton, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

''We have delivered a solid performance over the past year whilst managing a smooth transition to our new distribution centre and the implementation of the merchandising management system. The reaction to our autumn/winter 2014/15 collections is encouraging and, with a strong pipeline of new stores, particularly in mainland Europe, positions us well for the year ahead. The strength of the Superdry brand and the investment we have made in our teams leaves me confident in our ability to deliver the growth strategy." 

Notes

1.       Financial year 2014 covers the period 28 April 2013 to 26 April 2014 representing 364 days.  During March 2014 the internal reporting week was moved from Sunday to Saturday.

2.       The board considers market expectations for the financial year ended 26 April 2014 are best defined by taking the range of forecasts of PBT published by analysts who consistently follow the Group.  The current range of PBT forecasts as at 7 May 2014, of which the board is aware, is £61.1m to £65.2m with consensus at £62.9m.

3.       Like-for-like sales ("LFL") growth is defined as the year-on-year sales growth for stores and concessions open for more than one year and include eCommerce revenues. Underlying like-for-like sales excludes the mega-deal promotions on eBay. These are a non-recurring event and fall out of the comparisons in the year ahead.

4.       Retail Space:

5.       Group revenues FY13:

Conference call

SuperGroup will be hosting a conference call for analysts and investors at 08:00 hours BST today. Please call Mark Reed at Instinctif Partners for dial-in details on 020 7457 2017 or email mark.reed@instinctif.com.

Forthcoming News flow

Preliminary results                                             10 July 2014

Q1 Interim Management Statement                       4 September 2014

AGM                                                                 19 September 2014

Cautionary Statement

This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition and operational results of SuperGroup plc.  These statements and forecasts involve risk, uncertainty and assumptions because they relate to events and depend upon circumstances that will occur in the future.  There are a number of factors that could cause actual results or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements are made only as at the date of this announcement. Nothing in this announcement should be construed as a profit forecast.  Except as required by law, SuperGroup plc has no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or to correct any inaccuracies therein.

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Notes to the editors

SuperGroup is the owner of the Superdry brand and operates in the branded fashion clothing sector. Superdry targets the young fashion market with affordable, premium quality clothing and accessories for both men and women in the 15 to 25 age bracket, although the brand has become increasingly appealing to a much broader group as it develops its breadth of product ranges.

Since the first Superdry store opening in 2004, the business has grown rapidly and now operates 516 stores. There are 96 owned stores and 64 concessions in the UK. There are 43 owned stores, 124 franchised and 33 concessions in Europe. The remainder of the estate is made up franchised and licensed stores in the Rest of World.

The Group also has a successful ecommerce business. In addition to superdry.com the Group operates 17 country specific Superdry websites.

The Group's strategy is to further internationalise the business, with the focus of its future rollout of owned stores on mainland Europe.