Burberry reports rise in sales

14th Oct 2009 07:01

Fashion group Burberry reported a better-than-expected 5% rise in second quarter sales thanks to a good performance in Europe and Asia.Total sales rose to £343m compared with £328m last time, though sales were down 5% at constant exchange rates. Broker Nomura Securities predicted sales would drop 2% to £320m, or by 12% on a constant currency basis. Retail sales rose 27% to £163m, or 16% on a constant currency basis, with comparable store sales up 5%.Wholesale revenues dropped 12% to £153m, though licensing revenues came in at £27m, up 14%.For the full year, average selling space is expected to increase by between 8-10%, including a 1.5% negative impact from those stores closed as part of the global cost efficiency programme. Excluding these, Burberry plans to open around 15 mainline stores in the full year, biased towards Asia and the Americas.For the second half, Burberry expects wholesale revenue to be down by about 15% at constant currency.For the full year, the group anticipated underlying licensing revenue to decline by between 5-10% (previously down 10-15%).