British fashion house Burberry said retail sales rose 11 per cent in the three months to end-December as a cold snap and renewed interest in classic styles kicked off the firm's 150th jubilee year.
"In this retail-dominated quarter, we were pleased with the results for the all-important holiday period," chief executive Rose Marie Bravo said in a statement today.
Burberry, which was demerged in December from retail group GUS Plc, said total sales rose 5 per cent to £168 million ($297 million) in its third quarter, or 1 per cent at fixed exchange rates.
Retail sales accounted for two-thirds of all sales in a quarter dominated by Christmas trading, and were helped by the acquisition of 12 new stores in Taiwan and the opening of two new outlets in California and Florida.
Chief financial officer Stacey Cartwright said the colder weather, along with strong interest in lines like the Margaret bag and classic outerwear, had bolstered turnover as Burberry prepares for the launch of its new "Burberry London" fragrance.
The spring launch will be supported by the company's first ever global television advertising campaign, featuring actress Rachael Weisz.
But shares eased in the morning session as the market digested weaker performance in the group's other two business areas, wholesale and licensing.
The stock, which had underperformed the broader UK market by 12 per cent over the past 12 months, had dropped 1.7 per cent to 430p by 9:52am, valuing the business at just under £2 billion.
Wholesale turnover fell 21 per cent in the period, mainly as a result of changes in timing to key customer shipments, and Burberry trimmed its guidance on wholesale for the second half to a fall of between 7 and 8 per cent from a 5 per cent drop.
Licensing, which accounts for a diminishing proportion of sales as Burberry brings its brand back in-house, showed an underlying sales increase of 3 per cent. Burberry's total sales for the year to date are up 4 per cent, or 3 per cent on an underlying basis.