Kathmandu Holdings Limited reported group sales were up 48.7 percent in the 12 months ended July 31, boosted by its nine-month ownership of Rip Curl.

Sales reached Australian $801.5 million against A$538.9 million a year ago.

Kathmandu’s sales were down 9.7 percent to A$426.4 million.  The company saw an acceleration in online sales, with group online sales up 63 percent to A$106.4 million, now comprising 15.7 percent of direct-to-consumer sales. Rip Curl online sales were up 52 percent to A$25.5 million; 10.6 percent of direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales. Kathmandu online sales were up 67 percent to A$80.9 million; 18.5 percent of DTC sales

Oboz’s sales were off 15.2 percent to A$37.8 million. Oboz penetration and market share have been strong in key customer online trading sites during COVID-19, including REI and Zappos. Oboz aims to launch a DTC online shop this financial year.

The COVID-19 impact was estimated at A$135 million of sales (A$80 million retail and A$55 million wholesale).

Group Underlying EBITDA (earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortization) was down 15.3 percent to A$83.4 million (excluding the impact of IFRS 16 and one-off transaction and abnormal costs).

Group Underlying NPAT (net profit after taxes) down 44.5 percent to A$31.5 million (excluding the impact of IFRS 16 and one-off transaction and abnormal costs).

Commenting on the FY20 results, Group CEO Xavier Simonet said:

“It has been a transformational year for us with the acquisition of Rip Curl, and we are pleased with its integration into the Group over the last nine months. Unfortunately, the Group faced significant unexpected challenges with COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns. We took decisive action early to reduce costs, adjust the operating structure of the business and raised A$207 million of equity. These initiatives have resulted in a strong balance sheet and healthy inventory leve, which position us well for the future. Our omnichannel strategy and infrastructure capacity allowed us to rapidly scale up to meet the surge in online demand from March. In addition, following the easing of lockdown restrictions, we saw retail sales for Rip Curl and Kathmandu perform strongly in our core markets of Australasia, Europe and California, as consumers trended towards outdoor and recreation activities. Both Rip Curl and Kathmandu also enjoyed an exceptional post-lockdown winter sales performance in Australia and New Zealand.”

The full results can be seen here.

Photo courtesy Rip Curl