British luxury goods group Burberry beat quarterly revenue forecasts, helped by new stores and strong demand from China, and signalled it had not seen a slowdown in demand despite an uncertain economic outlook.
The 155-year-old maker of raincoats and leather goods said revenue rose 29 per cent to £463 million (€528.6 million) in the three months through September, its second quarter.
That was little changed from 30 per cent growth in its first quarter and above a forecast for £448 million in a Reuters poll.
Luxury goods stocks have fallen sharply in recent weeks amid fears demand could suffer from a slowdown in China's economic growth and that a sovereign debt crisis could plunge Europe back into recession.
Burberry said it was sticking with its expansion plans, "while being fully prepared to respond appropriately should we see any significant change in luxury demand".
Comparable store sales growth accelerated to 16 per cent in the second quarter from 15 per cent in the first, led by outlets in major cities including New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong and Dubai.
Sales in China were up about 30 per cent on the same basis, in line with the first quarter.
Burberry said the first-half operating margin in its retail and wholesale businesses would be broadly flat, compared with a previous forecast for a small decline.
But this was partly due to a rephasing of investment and costs and the company kept full-year guidance for a "modest improvement" in the margin.
Burberry plans to increase average retail selling space by about 15 per cent in the second half, including stores in Paris, China and Latin America.
It expects wholesale revenue to rise by a mid single-digit percentage at constant exchange rates in the second half, down from 9 per cent in the first half, due to tougher comparative figures and a shift to more retail sales.
Burberry shares, which have climbed in recent sessions but are still off July's record high of 1,610 pence, closed at 1,264 pence yesterday, valuing the group at £5.6 billion.
Reuters
