Ted Baker pre-tax profits up 24.2%

For the year ending January 29, Ted Baker reported sales up 14.7% to £187.7m. Retail sales were up 11.9% to £152.7m, and wholesale sales were up 28.9% to £35m, largely due to an encouraging start to its US wholesale operation.

Sales in its UK and Europe retail division were up 8.2% to £136.7m with a “good performance” in the UK.

Ted Baker said its ecommerce business benefitted from enhancements to its website, with a “significant increase” in sales compared to the previous year.

Total retail square footage globally was up 5.2% to 229,026 sq ft, and retail sales per square foot rose 2.5% to £648.

Founder and chief executive Ray Kelvin said: “The group’s excellent performance is testament to the strength of the Ted Baker brand, with design, quality and attention to detail at the heart of everything we do. We have continued carefully to expand the brand internationally and, supported by our strong balance sheet, will build on this momentum in 2011, with new store openings in the first half of the year including Paris, Hong Kong and Manchester.

“We have been pleased by the customer response to our spring/summer collections, both in the UK and internationally. Whilst the economic outlook for 2011 is uncertain, we have demonstrated in previous years our ability to trade through more difficult times and are confident that we are well placed to continue to do so.”

The retailer said following a strong post-Christmas sale period, it entered the new season with a clean stock position. It said while retail trading at the start of the year was “subdued”, recent trends are “more encouraging”.

It opened a store in Hong Kong in February, and will be opening a second store in Paris and a store in Trafford Centre in Manchester in March. It plans to open concessions in department stores in the US, Spain and Portugal in the first half of this financial year.

Ted Baker said there has been “much discussion on the pressures on consumer spending, but we believe that we are well positioned to meet these challenges due to the strength of the Ted Baker brand and collections”. It said it continues to manage the risks arising from exchange rate fluctuations and rising input prices in order to minimise the impact on its business.

Ted Baker said it continues to perform well in the uncertain trading environment and it remains focused on its multi-channel distribution strategy and will continue to expand into new and existing international markets.