Retail group Briscoes is forecasting record full year earnings and profit on booming sales and rising margins, sending its share price surging.
File image. Photo: RNZ
The company, which has the Briscoes Homeware, Rebel Sport, and Living and Giving chains, is forecasting a full year profit of around $87 million, nearly 20 percent higher than last year's $73.2m.
Managing director Rod Duke said the final three months had been outstanding as the group contended with turmoil and disruption.
"Part of this year's success has been our focus on ensuring the business has had sufficient inventory to satisfy demand," Duke said.
"With the uncertainty around national and international supply chains we committed to a strategy of securing product often months in advance of traditional timings, to minimise the wide-spread and widely reported, supply chain disruptions."
The company had carried more stock through the year but that had delivered sales and profit, especially in the final quarter, Duke said.
Group sales to the end of January were $744m, up 6 percent on last year, with single figure growth for homeware and sports goods, but 21 percent rise in on line sales.
The company had put effort into increasing its gross margins and that was expected to show through in the full year result, Duke said.
"We expect Group gross margin percentage for the full year to close significantly above last year's margin percentage."
Briscoe's shareprice jumped more than 5 percent on the forecasts. The company will report its full year result in mid-March.