Coronavirus: Superdry suspends dividend and delays full-year results
Superdry suspended its dividend and delayed its full-year results this morning as the retailer announced a dive in revenue due to the impact of coronavirus and the brand’s shift away from discounting.
The clothing brand said its full-year results, which were due to be published on 9 July, will be postponed by five to eight weeks.
In-store revenue was down 22.9 per cent for the financial year, driven by a 57 per cent drop in the fourth quarter, the company announced this morning.
Superdry said its online sales had made up a third of the lost store revenue lost over the last four weeks, and jumped 6.8 per cent in the three months to the end of April.
However, e-commerce revenue was down 8.2 per cent in the year.
Superdry’s wholesale revenue dropped 35.8 per cent in the fourth quarter, as the coronavirus pandemic suppressed demand and customers were unable to receive stock. The retailer said shipments are now resuming as lockdown measures are eased.
The high street retailer said it has reduced its cash burn while stores are closed, and has taken steps to preserve cash such as scrapping executive bonuses.
Superdry has reopened 48 stores across Germany, Sweden and Denmark, and expects to open a further 130 in Europe by the end of May. Only 22 per cent of its franchise stores are open, however the retailer expects the entire estate to be trading by the end of the month.
Chief executive Julian Dunkerton said: “As with all retailers, the Covid-19 pandemic has caused major disruption to our business operations and supply chain.
“I am pleased with the accelerating shift in sales to online, and we’ve seen a particularly good performance from our women’s ranges which, for the first time ever, are accounting for around half our sales.
“Clearly however, the closure of all our stores has had a major impact. We are taking all practical steps to preserve cash, looking carefully at all areas of the business and working to secure additional liquidity and financial flexibility.”