Superdry warned on Friday that it does not expect to see “significant sales growth” this financial year as it prioritises cutting costs and margin improvement under its turnaround programme.
The comment comes as the fashion retailer revealed it had sunk to a pre-tax loss of £148.1m in the year to 29 April 2023, compared to a £22.4m pre-tax profit the year before.
The falling profits included an accelerated non-cash impairment of store assets of £43.3m and a non-cash reduction in recognised deferred tax assets from £66.3m last year. When adjusted, pre-tax loss was £21.7m.
Group sales for the period edged up 2.1% from £609.6m to £622.5m, with a 14.6% surge in retail helping to offset a 19.1% decline in wholesale.
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The fashion retailer warned its current financial year would not see “significant revenue growth” as the consumer market “continues to remain challenging and unpredictable”.
First quarter sales plummeted 18.4% in the 13 weeks to July 2023 due to unseasonable weather affecting demand.
The retailer said actions to improve the balance sheet continue, including the IP sale and equity raise together contributing around £45m after year-end, alongside a cost saving programme to deliver £35m, to be fully realised in the next financial year.
Chief executive Julian Dunkerton said: “This has been a difficult year for the business and the market conditions have been extremely challenging, especially in wholesale.
“We’ve looked closely at how we operate and have taken decisive actions to improve our position, rebuild liquidity, and recapitalise our balance sheet, through careful preservation of cash and a re-engineered cost base.”
“While Wholesale remains very challenging, I believe the new team in place will recover this business in the medium-term.
“I’m really excited by our new partnership in Asia, finalised after year-end, which not only has helped rebuild our balance sheet but will ensure Superdry can achieve its potential as a truly global brand.”
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