Briscoe third-quarter sales slip 0.5 percent, expects stronger FY profit

Wednesday 7th November 2012

Briscoe Group posted a 0.5 percent decline in third-quarter sales, reflecting a drop in sales of sporting goods that benefited a year earlier from the Rugby World Cup.

Group sales were $97.5 million, down from a record$98 million in the same period a year earlier. Homeware sales climbed 4.3 percent to $65.5 million while sporting good sales fell 9 percent to $32 million. In the third quarter last year, the company had record sport good sales of $35.2 million.

Same-store sales fell 2.5 percent, with a 1 percent increase in homewares and an 8.9 percent drop for sporting goods.

"It was always going to be a huge challenge for the group to go close to matching last year's third quarter performance, especially for the sporting goods segment, given the sensational quarter we experienced last year as a result of the Rugby World Cup," managing director Rod Duke said in a statement.

Duke said the retailer was "cautiously optimistic" about the outlook and expects to exceed last year's full-year profit of $27.53 million. He wasn't more specific.

"The extent to which we exceed this will of course be heavily influenced by the strength or otherwise of the retail market over the Christmas period," he said.

Briscoe shares last traded at $2.10 and have soared 56 percent this year.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

Comments from our readers

No comments yet