This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
INCREASED domestic travel, leisure and outdoor activities have seen Super Retail Group post healthy full year numbers and a sales bounce in the new financial year, and the group is more optimistic about its omni retail strategy after a surge in online sales volumes.
Super Retail Group, owner of Supercheap Auto, sports retailer Rebel, and outdoor brands BCF and MacPac, posted a 4.2% increase in total group sales to $2.83 billion and like for like sales growth of 3.6%.
Group segment earnings before interest and tax of $236.1 million was 3.5% higher. Net profit after tax lifted 1.0% to $154.1 million.
Online sales surged 44.4% to $290.5 million. Super Retail Group managing director and chief executive officer, Anthony Heraghty said ongoing investment in the group’s omni-retail capability was continuing to position the group well, given the recent acceleration in the shift towards online channels.
“This investment has supported 66% CAGR in group online sales over the past four years,” he said.
“During this period, the group’s active membership base of 6.6 million has grown almost five times faster than store numbers. Scalable growth is critical to our success and our ability to expand the group’s customer base multiple times faster than our physical store network reinforces our conviction in an omni-retail strategy.”
Heraghty said the group’s omni-retail strategy enabled the businesses to adapt quickly to changing consumer behaviour during COVID-19.
“Our brands have established leading market positions in attractive lifestyle categories. We are well positioned to benefit from consumer trends emerging from the pandemic, including the channel shift to online, uptake in DIY auto repairs and household projects, increased focus on personal health and wellbeing, and greater demand for domestic travel and outdoor leisure activities.”
Supercheap Auto EBIT increased 11.0% to $134.9 million, with sales up 7.6% to nearly $1.12 billion after a 33.6% jump in May and June. Margins rose slightly to 12.0%.
Rebel sales lifted 3.3% to $1.039 billion and EBIT grew 3.3% to $126.6 billion as COVID restrictions forced gym junkies to find home based solutions while encouraging others to exercise with their newfound time at home. Margins inched upwards to 9.3%.
Sales across its BCF stores lifted 4.0% to $535 million, but bushfires and travel restrictions slashed EBIT by 24.5% to $15.7 million, and margins tightened by 4.0% to 2.0%. The MacPac business saw a 45% tumble in EBIT to $7.2 million, and sales dropped 5.0% to $131.9 million.
Super Retail has enjoyed a further bounce in like-for-like sales growth of 32% in the first seven weeks of FY21. Supercheap Auto sales are up 23%, Revel by 30%, BCF by 72% and Macpac by 16%. Those figures include the impact of the government-mandated closure of 94 stores at the tail end of the period due to new lockdowns in Melbourne and Auckland.
The group traded all stores through FY20, with the exception of stores that were government-mandated for closure including all New Zealand stores for seven weeks and three stores in Tasmania for two weeks.
Actions to improve liquidity included the cancellation of the interim dividend of $42.5 million, and the group secured an additional $100 million debt funding facility. A $203 million equity raising was completed in July.
Capital expenditure reduced from $90.5 million in FY19 to $67.9 million as liquidity measures were implemented. Expenditure included $28.0 million in new and refurbished store fit-outs and $39.8 million in building omni-retail capabilities, data and analytics.
A fully franked final dividend of 19.5 cents per share was declared, representing a payout ratio of 55% of second half underlying NPAT, at the bottom end of the group’s target payout range.
