Clothing chain beats the weather woes

Hallenstein Glasson shares yesterday touched an almost 11-year high as the clothing retailer disclosed that it had shrugged off the appalling December weather.

Hallenstein now expects profit for the six months to February to rise by as much as 15 per cent on last year's $6.99 million thanks to strong sales over the crucial Christmas trading period.

This is in stark contrast to its rivals The Warehouse and Postie Plus, which have blamed flagging sales on the cool weather.

The shares soared 40c to $4.00, a level last seen in March 1994, but later eased to close at $3.85.

One observer said the company was benefiting from strong economic growth as consumers traded up from the cheaper clothing retailers such as The Warehouse.

At the same time Hallenstein carried much less inventory so it could adapt to the prevailing conditions more quickly than its larger competitors.

Hallenstein's same-store sales from December 1 to January 23 were up 1.77 per cent on the same time last year, while same-store sales for the summer season to date (August 2 to January 23) were up 6.52 per cent.

Same-store sales for the season so far at the group's New Zealand operations were up 4.09 per cent, while Australian same-store sales jumped 33.83 per cent.

It said: "Stocks are at a controllable level, and margins for the season were on budget."

The group will announce its half-year results in mid March.

Last week The Warehouse said its profit for the six months to January 30 would be between 3 and 10 per cent lower than for the same time a year earlier, citing poor sales of summer clothing, sporting goods, toys and gardening products.

Postie Plus has also issued a profit downgrade, saying it expected a first-half loss of $700,000, compared with a net profit of $3.1 million for the first half of last year.

Fellow listed retail company Briscoe Group said its full-year profit was likely to be around 26 per cent lower than the year earlier, falling to $17.5 million from $23.6 million. It blamed the downgrade on the highly competitive market and the cost of opening new stores.

On the upside, Pumpkin Patch also expects to boost its earnings, forecasting its net profit for the year ending July to jump 48 per cent to no less than $23 million.