Yoga and leisure apparel retailer Lululemon Athletica has recorded a quarterly profit that was boosted by higher-than-predicted gross margins and sales.

In its third quarter period ending October 30, the gross margin of the Canadian brand – which trades online and has seven stores in London and one in Edinburgh – rose to 51.1 per cent, up from 46.9 per cent a year ago.

Third-quarter sales across both online and its worldwide stores also rose seven per cent, excluding exchange rate fluctuations, which is higher than the 5.4 per cent increase predicted by analysts.

Lululemon‘s net income also increased to $68.3 million, compared to $53.2 million year-on-year, while revenue was $544.4 million, up from $479.7 million.

Chief executive Laurent Potdevin told Reuters that the Vancouver-based retailer continued “to be on track” with its five-year plan of doubling its revenue.

The fourth quarter began slowly in November, before picking up around Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, Potdevin added, boosted by store sales in the US during this period.

Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette’s free daily email newsletter