Ted Baker delivers strong first half performance

2nd Oct 2014 07:06

Clothing retailer Ted Baker sewed up a strong performance in the first half thanks to progress across all of its established territories and distribution channels.For the 28 weeks ended 9 August, revenue climbed 17% year-on-year to £182.2m, helping to drive profit before tax 33.8% higher to £15.6m and earnings per share 29% to 26.1p.The gross margin dipped from 59.7% to 58.5%, partly as a result of a change in sales mix between wholesale and retail sales and partly due to a slight decrease in the retail and wholesale margins.As expected, operating expenses increased 15.6% to £97.2m as the group upped its investment in both staff and infrastructure, while distribution costs rose 13.2% to £70.2m and admin expenses climbed 21.5% to £26.6m.The group increased its dividend payment by 18.9% to 11.3p.Chief executive Ray Kelvin said: "Ted Baker has continued to deliver a strong performance across its global markets and distribution channels during the first half of the year."We have successfully opened new space in our international markets, with further planned for the second half of the year in line with our strategy to focus on expansion opportunities that are appropriate for our brand."Looking to the full year, the company has continued to perform well in the second half and said it was pleased with the response to its autumn/winter collections.As usual, its full-year performance will be dependent on the more heavily weighted second-half trading period, it added.