Premier Investments shares rally as second-half sales climb
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More news: Premier Investments shares gained after dipping into red in morning trade, despite the retail group reporting a 34% slump in first-half profit and warned of "very difficult times" for the sector.
Shares were up 3.6% to $21.80 at 1:20pm AEDT after initially dropping nearly 1% at market open.
E&P retail analyst Phillip Kimber said the company's reported net profit after tax of $117 million included a large number of non-recurring costs and therefore isn't comparable to consensus NPAT estimates of $144 million.
Kimber said Premier Investments' sales growth of 1.8% at the start of the second half of the fiscal year is "expected to be positively received" by investors.
Premier Investments posts 34% first-half profit drop as Smiggle sales slump
The news: Retail group Premier Investments reported a 34% drop in first-half net profit to $117.1 million, as chairman Solomon Lew said the company was navigating "very difficult times" with ongoing trading challenges.
The numbers: Group sales fell 2.5% year on year to $857.8 million, including discontinued operations following the sale of its Apparel Brands business to Myer during the period.
For continuing operations, comprising brands Peter Alexander and Smiggle, sales lowered 1.8% to $455 million.
Peter Alexander posted record first-half sales of $297.7 million, a 6.6% uptick year on year. Smiggle sales slumped 14.5% to $157.3 million. The group said Smiggle is "particularly exposed" to increased cost-of-living pressures in all global markets.
The context: Lew said the company's half-year result is "credit to management in navigating very difficult times", given the "relative performance of competitors where trading conditions continued to be challenging".
Following the sale of Apparel Brands, Lew said Premier Investments will focus on growing Peter Alexander and Smiggle in existing markets and expanding their reach in new markets through further international expansion "in the coming years".
The source: ASX
