Burberry Group FY22 revenue increased 10% with adjusted operating profit up 38%

Burberry Group plc (LON:BRBY) has announced its preliminary results for 53 weeks ended 2 April 2022.

“Burberry is a unique British company with an extraordinary history and heritage and it is a privilege to take the reins in this next phase. The company has made great progress over the last five years to elevate the brand, product and customer experience into the luxury space. I look forward to setting out my plans for building on these strong foundations and accelerating growth at the interim results in November.”

Jonathan Akeroyd, Burberry Group Chief Executive Officer

*See page 17 for definitions of alternative performance measures, **LLY is compared with FY20

FY22 is a 53-week year. The comparative period is 52 weeks to 27 March 2021. To aid understanding, we are providing CER percentage changes on a 52-week basis while absolute figures will be on a reported basis including the 53^rd week unless otherwise stated. FY23 will be a 52-week year.

·    Despite a continuing challenging external environment, FY22 revenue increased 10% at CER vs LLY (+23% vs LY) with a material improvement in the quality of our sales mix

·    Adjusted operating profit ahead of guidance, up 38% at CER to £523m. Adjusted operating margin +210bps at CER demonstrates significant progress towards our medium-term ambition, supported by a strong gross margin

·    Q4 comparable store sales grew 7% vs LY with COVID-19 lockdowns in Mainland China weighing on performance in March

·    Strong brand momentum; excellent response to first in-person runway show in two years

·    Continued investment in outerwear and leather goods with full-price sales up 39% and 28% vs LLY respectively in the year

·    Introduced new store concept, which is transforming how customers experience brand and product; 47 stores now in the new design, including Paris flagship on Rue Saint Honoré

·    Substantially met 2017-2022 responsibility targets; set new industry-leading climate and nature commitments

·    Strong financials and cash conversion above 100%. Full-year dividend per share of 47.0p up 11% vs LY, restoring our normal pay-out ratio, and planned £400m share buy back for completion in FY23

Outlook

We maintain our guidance of high single-digit revenue growth and meaningful margin accretion at CER in the medium-term. Our 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.

All metrics and commentary in the Group Financial Highlights and Business and Financial Review exclude adjusting items unless stated otherwise.

The following alternative performance measures are presented in this announcement: CER, adjusted profit measures, comparable sales, free cash flow, cash conversion, adjusted EBITDA and net debt. The definition of these alternative performance measures are in the Appendix on page 17.

Certain financial data within this announcement have been rounded. Growth rates and ratios are calculated on unrounded numbers.

BURBERRY GROUP FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Revenue

·    Revenue £2,826m +23% CER, +21% reported

·    Retail comparable store sales +18% (H1: +37%; H2: +7%)

·    Retail full-price comparable store sales +24% (H1: +49%; H2: 10%)

Adjusted profit

·    Adjusted operating profit £523m, +38% CER, +32% reported

·    Adjusted gross margin of 70.6%, +60bps at CER and reported rates. Driven by higher mix of full-price sales and price rises reflecting the underlying strength in the brand

·    Adjusted profit margin of 19.0% at CER, +210bps (18.5% reported)

·    Operating expenses before adjusting items rose 19% at CER (+18% reported) due to higher investment and cost normalisation

·    Adjusted diluted EPS 94.0p, +49% at CER, +40% reported

Reported profit measures

·    Operating profit £543m, +4% after adjusting items of £20m net credit (FY21: £125m net credit)

·    Diluted EPS 97.7p, +5% reported

Cash measures

·    Full year dividend per share declared of 47.0p (FY21: 42.5p) restoring a normal pay-out ratio

·    Free cash flow of £340m (FY21: £349m) due to strong cash management

·    Cash net of overdrafts and borrowings of £879m at 2 April 2022 (27 March 2021: £919m) with a £150m share buy back completed in the year. Cash net of overdrafts amounted to £1.2bn with borrowings of £298m