Superdry losses deepen to £167m as pandemic disrupts turnaround efforts

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Fashion retailer Superdry posted a deeper annual loss after the Covid-19 pandemic hampered its turnaround efforts.

Pre-tax losses for the year through 25 April amounted to £166.9m, compared to a loss of £89.3m on-year. Revenue slumped 19% to £704.4m.

The company scrapped its final dividend, as had been previously announced.

Its net cash position at the end of the financial year was £36.7m, 2.2% from £35.9m a year earlier.

The company said the decline in sales reflected a planned move away from persistent discounting and, more latterly, the impact of Covid-19, which saw its entire store estate closed from 22 March until financial year end.

Since the end of the financial year, Superdry said trading continued to be disrupted, but had improved as social distancing measures were relaxed and consumer demand gradually returned.

Revenue in the seven weeks to 12 September was down 31%, while revenue in the 20 weeks to 12 September was down 27%.

'As with all retailers, we have experienced significant disruption to our operations, and this has inevitably had an impact on our FY20 results, but I'm proud of how everyone in the business has stepped up during this exceptional time,' chief executive and founder Julian Dunkerton said.

'While our underlying profit has been impacted by trading performance during the year, including Covid-19 related store closures, I am particularly pleased by how strongly Ecommerce has performed, with FY21 first quarter revenues nearly doubling year-on-year.'

'This has been complemented by our increased digital consumer engagement, which helped drive a stronger womenswear mix than we have ever seen before.'

'I'm pleased that we have delivered a good increase in the full price mix, which is up 12 points year-on-year and has had a positive impact on gross margin.

'We are delivering on the reset of the business, despite the impacts of the pandemic.'

'This has included re-invigorating the store design and layout, preparing for a relaunch of our website, and significantly increasing the number of options available both in store and online.'

Superdry said that despite a stronger-than-anticipated performance in the first quarter, historically our lowest trading period, it remained cautious on the shape of the economic recovery.

'Consequently, we recognise there is a material uncertainty and are not providing formal guidance,' it said.