Burberry Group Plc’ share price up, posts annual profit that beats analysts’ estimates, seeks growth in Japan

The biggest UK luxury-goods manufacturer – Burberry Group Plc made an official statement today, revealing full-year profit, that surpassed analysts estimates. These are the first results posted by the company since the position of Chief Executive Officer was occupied by Mr. Christopher Bailey in May this year.

Burberry Group Plc revealed in its statement that its adjusted pre-tax profit increased by 8% and reached 461 million pounds (776 million dollars) in the financial year ended March 31st. The result outstripped the median analysts estimate that amounted to 450 million pounds. The companys net profit rose from 254.3 million pounds a year ago to 322.5 million pounds. Burberry also said that its annual revenue increased by 17% to 2.3 billion pounds (3.87 billion dollars) due to its retail operations growth.

The company also explained that it considers Japan and its beauty unit as great perspectives for future growth. The new Chief Executive Officer of Burberry – Mr. Christopher Bailey, who took over the helm after Mrs. Angela Ahrendts earlier in May, lifted the curtain about the companys future plans, saying that the company bets on further growth in Japan.

One of the analysts working at Exane BNP Paribas – Luca Solca commented for Bloomberg: “The focus of the day will be on what the new CEO says and any hint on how Japan and beauty will shape up.”

Currently, Burberry Group Plc owns a total of four stores and ten “shop-in-shop” concessions in Japan. The revenues generated by these stores plus the companys small wholesale business there are estimated to about 25 million pounds in the full-year period. Now the company is seeking to improve its performance on the territory of the country and consolidate its positions. Burberry Group Plc has set a goal of doubling its presence in Japan. The company is also seeking to reach 100-million-pounds revenue there by 2017.

Burberry Group Plc was adding 1.58% to trade at 1,539 pence per share by 9:07 GMT, marking a one year change of -0.52%. According to the information published on the Financial Times, the 21 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Burberry Group Plc have a median target of 1,620, with a high estimate of 2,147 and a low estimate of 900.00. The median estimate represents a 5.88% increase from the last price of 1,530.