23 Sep 2014

Kathmandu profit drop

12:55 pm on 23 September 2014

Kathmandu's annual net profit fell 4.5 percent, but was near the top end of the company's guidance in August.

The outdoor clothing company said the current year started strongly with sales through stores open 12 months or more rising more than 30 percent from August through to 14 September.

Kathmandu's net profit for the year ended July of $42.2 million was struck on a 2.3 percent rise in sales of $393 million.

Kathmandu's soon to be acting chief executive, Mark Todd, said the result was satisfactory, given reduced customer demand in the company's key selling period in June.

Indeed, in late June, the company had warned operating profit for the first 11 months of the year, was likely to be down between 10 and 15 percent.

But then a cold July sent shoppers flocking to Kathmandu stores, turning the operating profit around to a 1.4 percent gain for the whole year.

The high New Zealand dollar shaved $29.3m off the company's total sales and nearly $5.8m off its operating profit.

Mr Todd said in constant-exchange-rate terms, sales through stores open 12 months or more rose 4.2 percent. At actual exchange rates, those sales were down 2.7 percent.

The company opened 15 new stores during the year, 10 of them in the second half.

Kathmandu's online sales rose 35 percent, but accounted for only 5 percent of total sales.

For the current year, the company is expecting better results from its Australian and New Zealand stores.

But the overall result will be dragged down by its planned $5 million investment to build its brand in Europe.