The US retail group Urban Outfitters Inc. set new sales and profit records in the 2021/22 financial year. The company is starting the new year with confidence: “The strong response from customers to our first spring offers promises continued sales growth in the first quarter,” said CEO Richard Hayne in a statement on Tuesday evening.
The company had already announced a few weeks ago that it was able to generate a new sales record in the fiscal year that ended in January: At 4.55 billion US dollars (4.10 billion euros), sales were 31.9 percent above the level of the previous year , in which the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic had had a significant impact on business. Compared to the pre-crisis year 2019/20, sales increased by 14.2 percent.
The retailer has now announced that it has also been able to significantly improve its profits: The operating result reached a level of 408.6 million US dollars after it was only 3.97 million US dollars in the previous year, not least due to high one-off charges would have. The net profit grew from 1.24 to 310.6 million US dollars (279.8 million euros). The group was thus able to increase significantly compared to 2019/20: At that time it had achieved a net profit of 168.1 million US dollars.
The company justified the strong improvement in earnings with lower price reductions and the higher share of sales from online business, among other things. In addition, high value adjustments had burdened the result in the two previous years. In addition to the retail chain Urban Outfitters, the group includes the clothing suppliers Anthropologie Group and Free People as well as the catering division Menus & Venues. The company also operates a fashion rental service and a second-hand marketplace under the Nuuly brand.