Noni B in profits surge as e-tail and physical stores perform

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Feb 28, 2018

Australian fashion retailer Noni B saw its shares rising after it released news that its interim net profit had soared to reach A$11.8 million. It was up from A$2.5 million a year earlier as sales in the six months to December 31 rose 35% to A$193.2 million.

The company’s comparable sales at its Noni B, Rockman and W Lane chains rose 3% in the period.

The total sales figure was boosted as it opened 28 more stores to take it to a total of 642, made the most of the acquisition of Pretty Girl Fashion Group (which it bought in 2016) and saw higher e-tail sales. In fact, e-tail turnover was up by 68% and while the company hailed its rise to now account for 5% of its turnover, that means there’s still plenty of room left to drive e-commerce further as 5% is relatively low by international standards. 

Chairman Richard Facioni said: "We are confident that our extensive physical store network combined with our investment in online are a strength of the group and will continue to underpin growth.”

He also said that while 2017 was a transitional year given the Pretty Girl buy, 2018 will be all about growth with the firm having cut its debt load and being cash flow-positive.