Burberry posts revenue success but says future depends on Chinese Covid recovery
Burberry reported a 23 per cent rise in revenue to £2.83bn, but said the ongoing outlook for the luxury brand depended on Chinese recovery.
Despite group adjusted operating profit up to £523m, the comparable store sales in Asia Pacific were down seven per cent in the final quarter in the final quarter as lockdown batters China.
Sales surged 51 per cent in EMEIA and 12 per cent in the Americas.
Looking forward, the company said its outlook “is dependent on the impact of COVID-19 and rate of recovery in consumer spending in Mainland China”.
“While the current macro-economic environment creates some near term uncertainty, we are actively managing the headwind from inflation. Based on 6 May 2022 spot rates we expect a currency tailwind of £159m on revenue and £92m on adjusted operating profit in FY23”, the iconic British designer said
Weighing in on the financials, City Index Market Analyst Joshua Warner said: “China is the major concern for Burberry going forward. The country, one of the largest markets for luxury goods in the world, reintroduced fresh lockdown measures in March and this has severely hit sales.”
Newly appointed chief exec Jonathan Akeroyd said that while Burberry had made great progress over the last five years to elevate the brand, product and customer experience into the luxury space, he would be setting out his plans for building on these strong foundations and accelerating growth at the interim results in November.
Akeroyd took over from Marco Gobbetti in March, who had ambitions to grow out the Burberry brand to be even more of a luxury offering.
Gobbetti left for a job at Salvatore Ferragamo in Italy, which he said would allow him to be closer to his family.