LONDON – Sales of outerwear and non-apparel items, coupled with strong demand from Europe and Asia-Pacific, drove third-quarter revenue at Burberry Group plc up 15.5 percent to 380 million pounds, or $619.4 million.
In a statement, chief executive Angela Ahrendts called the quarterly performance “strong,” and said the company now expects adjusted profit before tax for the 2009-10 fiscal year to be “towards the top end” of market expectations.
The company also said it is anticipating better-than-expected wholesale results for the second half ending March 31. It is projecting wholesale sales to be down 10-12 percent rather than 15 percent.
In the third quarter, wholesale sales grew 10.5 percent to 105 million pounds, or $171.2 million. The company said the uptick was due to earlier shipments compared with last year, part of a strategy to deliver new ranges more frequently to wholesale customers.
Dollar figures have been calculated at average exchange rates for the three-month period to Dec. 31.
By region, Europe was the strongest performer in the period, with sales growing 27.2 percent, followed by Asia-Pacific with growth of 20.3 percent. The Americas region, which now includes Central and South America in addition to the U.S., grew 3.6 percent.
For complete coverage, see Wednesday’s WWD.