Mulberry bags higher full-year sales and profits

Luxury fashion brand Mulberry said it expects to grow group sales further in its current financial year after reporting a 5 per cent jump in the 12 months to end-March.

Mulberry saw its profits swell last year. Picture: Nick Ansell/PA Wire

Revenues at the group, famous for its handbags, reached £155.9 million, while pre-tax profit grew to £6.2m, up from £1.9m in the previous year.

The brand, which said it is committed to its core price bracket of £500 to £995 per bag, attributed its profit growth to higher retail sales, which grew 8 per cent to £118.7m, with like-for-like sales up 8 per cent.

UK retail sales rose 9 per cent to £97.4m while internationally they jumped by 3 per cent to £21.3m.

Both these figures included digital sales, and Mulberry flagged the “continued strength” of this part of its business, which accounted for 14 per cent of group sales.

Mulberry chief executive Thierry Andretta said: ­“Mulberry has made significant progress during the last financial year with solid growth achieved in revenues and profit.

“The first collection introduced by our new creative director, Johnny Coca, has been well received by both the UK and international press and partners.”

Andretta added that the retailer’s UK manufacturing base, which produces about 50 per cent of the group’s bags, “has remained a core strength and point of distinction”.

He said: “We have built a strong foundation for future growth as a result of the investment made in product design and development as well as our omni-channel infrastructure.

“Looking forward, we will invest further in developing exciting new product, while continuing to engage with our core UK and growing international customer base.”

The firm also said in the results announcement that for the 11 weeks to 11 June, total retail sales have been up 9 per cent, and up by 4 per cent on a like-for-like basis.

In a separate announcement, the business confirmed that Neil Ritchie has joined as group finance director.