KEY POINTS:
Postie Plus Group is putting a positive gloss on its third quarter sales even though sales are growing more slowly than for its loss-making first half.
Company chief executive Ron Boskell issued a statement to the NZX and described a 9 per cent increase to $29.25 million for the three months to April 29 as "satisfactory".
The increase is for overall sales across the group and includes another two stores, so is not a direct comparison on the performance for its 74 outlets.
The increase was less than the 12.9 per cent growth for the first quarter and the 12.1 per cent growth for the second that led to Postie Plus recording at $488,000 loss for the half year to January 31.
The 9 per cent third quarter rise includes at least two new stores in New Plymouth and Whakatane and new "test formats" for Whakatane and Riccarton Mall in Christchurch. Same store sales were up 5.3 per cent across the group.
Boskell said margins had improved after discounting to clear stock in the second quarter, but would did not say by how much.
He said the company would be in profit again for the full year results to July 31 but said trading had been challenging in the past three weeks.
"Although there has been recovery from the half year position it would be difficult to reach the same profits [$3.9 million] it achieved in the year to July 31, 2006," he said.
Guy Hallwright of stockbroker Forsyth Barr said that during its period of more than 12 per cent sales growth in the first half, Postie Plus sales per square metre of floorspace grew just 2 per cent.
The third quarter increase of 9 per cent suggested per metre performance had probably not changed.
