The British leather goods specialist Mulberry Group plc closed the first half of the 2022/23 financial year with a slight decline in sales and in the red. According to an interim report published on Wednesday, business has been increasingly impacted by the deteriorating economic environment in recent months.
In the 26 weeks before October 1st, group sales amounted to 64.9 million pounds sterling (75.2 million euros). It was thus one percent below the corresponding level of the previous year. After the company had achieved an increase of seven percent in the first three months, it had to accept a decline in sales of nine percent in the second quarter.
In the entire first half of the year, retail sales fell by seven percent to 51.6 million British pounds. Mulberry’s largest decline was in its UK home market, where retail sales slipped 10 percent to £34.1 million due to the “tougher macroeconomic environment”.
In Asia-Pacific, retail sales grew 1 percent to £11.9 million, while in the rest of the world they fell 3 percent to £5.6 million. Global wholesale and franchise sales grew 32 percent to £13.3 million.
Earnings were impacted by higher investments in expansion and marketing as well as costs for taking over the retail activities in Sweden and Australia on our own. The company suffered an operating loss of £2.2m after posting an operating profit of £11.9m in the first half of last year.
The bottom line was a net loss attributable to shareholders of £2.7 million (EUR 3.1 million). In the same period last year, Mulberry had achieved a corresponding surplus of 7.6 million British pounds.