Group like-for-like sales of £122.2m, including VAT, up 4.2% (2012/13: up 3.9%)
- Like-for-like retail sales up 6.4%
- Like-for-like hire sales down 6.4%
· E-commerce sales up 208.6%, now 5.1% of total sales
· Profit before tax was £4.4m (2012/13: £3.1m, 2012/13: Underlying profit before taxation £3.0m) after crediting £0.4m with respect to provisions for onerous lease (2012/13: £0.3m).
· EBITDA up 16.5% to £9.2m (2012/13: Adjusted EBITDA** £7.9m), driven by improved sales and tight control over costs.
· Strong cash balance of £28.3m (2012/13: £25.7m). Cash generated from operating activities of £9.5m (2012/13: £8.5m).
· Basic earnings per share, on continuing operations, of 3.76 pence (2012/13: 2.33 pence per share). Basic earnings per share, on continuing operations, before exceptional items, of 3.76 pence per share (2012/13: 2.52 pence per share).
· Final dividend proposed of 4.7p, total dividend for the year 5.0p, up 4.1p on the previous year (2012/13: 0.9p), a significant increase.
Operational
· Adoption of Moss Bros as the master brand, with a realignment of sub brands planned for Autumn 2014.
· 13 stores refitted as part of the ongoing refit plan. Performing to expectation.
· Excellent performance from new e-commerce platform, with sales up significantly.
· Strong performance over Christmas with residual stock successfully cleared.
Current trading
· Sales in the first eight weeks of the new financial year are up 7.3%. Like-for-like* gross profit in the eight weeks to 22 March 2014 is up 6.4% on the equivalent prior year period.
· Retail sales continue to show good growth.
· After a difficult 2013 for the wedding hire industry, early season bookings for 2014 have stabilised and the month of March has seen an upturn in bookings compared to last year. It is too early to say if this upturn will be sustained but the business is in excellent shape to build market share. The new transactional website launched in November 2013 is recording site traffic above expectations.
Commenting on the results and outlook, Brian Brick, Chief Executive Officer, said:
"We enter the new financial year with a strong balance sheet and a commitment to a significantly increased dividend. The ongoing cash generation of the business will support the continued investment in store refits and develop our multi-channel capability. 2014 will see an increase in marketing to support the opportunities identified in the findings of the customer insight project, conducted in 2013. We will adopt "Moss Bros" as the master brand and will launch Moss branded sub brands in Autumn 2014.
