STRONG: GROWTH IN BOTH SALES AND PROFITS

Adastria Co, Ltd (TYO: 2685)

Japan's Adastria reported financial performance for the cumulative nine-month period of FY24 on December 29, 2023. Its third quarter ended on November 30, 2023, and the full fiscal is ending on February 29, 2024.

For the period of March 1, 2023, to November 30, 2023, the company's net sales on a consolidated basis amounted to ¥203,252 million, which was a 14.8 per cent increase over ¥177,026 million during the same period last year. In the apparel and sundry goods-related segment, the sales in Japan rose by 12.7 per cent, in mainland China by 91.6 per cent, in Hong Kong by 29.8 per cent, and in Taiwan by 50.1 per cent. This growth was mainly due to the declined impact of the pandemic and the new store openings based on the multi-brand strategy. In the US, the sales in the first nine months were 5.9 per cent higher than in the prior year.

On a comparable basis, the operating profit of ¥16,306 million was up by 46 per cent, comprehensive income increased by 47.7 per cent from ¥8,419 million in the previous year to ¥12,434 million, and net income attributable to the owners of the parent at ¥11,541 million rose by 51.5 per cent. The result gave a net income yield of ¥254.1 per share against ¥168.09 per share of last year. The company's profitability improved despite the continuing negative effects of the yen's depreciation and the rising cost of raw materials. Earnings benefitted from the control of inventories by supplying merchandise at the right times, prices, and volumes; measures to limit sales of merchandise at discounts; additions of more value to merchandise; revisions of prices to maintain the proper balance with the value of merchandise; and the shift to suppliers in the ASEAN region to hold down production expenses.

Buoyed by the result, the company is now expecting full fiscal 2024 to end in net sales of ¥270,000 million, which will be an 11.3 per cent annual growth. This is expected to reap an operating profit of ¥18,000 million, rising 56.3 per cent year over year; and, net income per share to reach ¥263.65 as a result of 51.3 per cent increase in ordinary profit at ¥18,200 million.

Boot Barn Holdings, Inc (NYSE: BOOT)

The NYSE-listed company announced preliminary results for Q3, FY24 on January 5, 2024, in advance of its participation in the ICR Conference scheduled for January 8, 2024. The reported quarter ended on December 30, 2023.

For the third quarter, the Irvine (California)-based company expected net sales of $520.4 million, representing a 1.1 per cent growth over the same quarter of the previous year. This growth includes the same-store sales decline of 9.7 per cent, comprising a retail store same-store sales decline of 9.4 per cent and an e-commerce same-store sales decline of 11.3 per cent. The net income per diluted share is expected to remain at or above the high end of its previously announced guidance range of $1.79. No announcement pertaining to profitability performance was reported.

Boot Barn is an American lifestyle retailer of western and work-related footwear, apparel, and accessories for men, women, and children, offering a wide selection through work and lifestyle brands. During the reported quarter, Boot Barn opened 11 new stores, reaching a cumulative total of 37 stores year-to-date, bringing the total store count to 382 across 44 states in the US. In addition, it operates dedicated e-commerce channels for Boot Barn, Sheplers, and Country Outfitters.

H&M (STO: HM-B)

One of the world's top fashion companies, Sweden-based H&M, ended FY23 on November 30, 2023, and reported its full-year net sales growth of 6 per cent at SEK 236,014 million. However, if the Russia and Belarus markets are excluded, the growth rate elevates to 8 per cent in SEK and 1 per cent in local currencies. Since the publishing of the full-year report is due on January 31, 2024, these figures stand as provisional, though not much deviation is expected. The company also reported its fourth-quarter performance—September 1 to November 30.

In the concluding quarter, net sales of SEK 62,629 million remained flat compared with SEK 62,433 million in sales in the corresponding quarter last year. Excluding Russia and Belarus, the growth was 3 per cent in SEK but there was a 1 per cent drop in local currencies. At the group level, H&M's net sales decreased by 4 per cent in local currencies quarter-over-quarter. The profitability performance is expected to be part of the full-year report on January 31, 2024.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)