Briscoe Group (BGP) H1 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Achieved record half-year sales of $372.1m, up 0.77% year-over-year, despite challenging economic conditions.

• Underlying NPAT was $40.58m, down 5.07% year-over-year, with reported NPAT at $33.21m after a $7.37m one-off non-cash tax adjustment.

• Interim dividend maintained at 12.5cps, with a payout policy of at least 60% of NPAT on a full-year basis.

• Online sales comprised 18.77% of total sales, up from 18.33% last year, with the customer database exceeding 2 million.

• Maintained strong cost control, with total store and overhead costs up less than 1% year-over-year.

Financial highlights

• Gross profit margin was 42.97%, down from 43.73% year-over-year but above pre-Covid levels.

• EBIT for the half was $60.5m, representing 16.3% of sales.

• Cash balances at period end were $131.8m, up from $126.9m last year; inventories decreased by 11.55% to $106.32m.

• Free cash flow for the half was $3.0m; operating cash flow was $38.05m, up from $32.98m year-over-year.

• Basic earnings per share were 14.91c, down from 19.19c year-over-year.

Outlook and guidance

• Strategic plan refreshed for 2024–2027, focusing on growth, supply chain transformation, and retail experience evolution.

• Management remains cautious about the retail environment, expecting continued economic headwinds and not matching last year's $84.2m NPAT, but anticipates a strong result.

• Major supply chain investments on track, with new Auckland DC construction starting in 2025 and hopes for improved consumer confidence following a lower OCR.