E-commerce brings Moss Bros to a steady start of FY15

Moss Bros [IRDX RMOS] today has kicked off fiscal year 2015 boosted by a steady 65 percent increase in online sales. The retailer explains this sky-rocketing rise in online sales with the continued development of its retail and hire websites.

In a trading update, the British formalwear retailer and hire company said that e-commerce sales rose by 64.9 percent in the first 15 weeks of its financial year, to May 16 2015, compared to the same time last year.

E-commerce fuels Moss Bross steady start of the year

Total e-commerce sales represented 10 percent of total sales in the period, up from 6.5 percent at the same time last year. Within that, mobile accounted for 17 percent of retail e-commerce sales.

The growth of online sales helped to lift sales across the business: in the first 15 weeks total sales grew by 6.4 percent on last time. Like-for-like retail sales, which include ecommerce, grew by 7.6 percent, while hire sales were up by 6.4 percent.

Chief executive Brian Brick was pleased with progress, saying that “E-commerce sales in the first 15 weeks of the year continue to grow, reflecting our continuing investment in systems and infrastructure,” he said. “This is another good period of progress for Moss Bros and we continue to remain confident about our medium term growth prospects.”

Profit margins have also improved following an early clearance of autumn and winter stock, enabling a quick switch into full price new season ranges, explained the company in a statement.

In this regard, Brick explained that “Retail sales continue to improve and hire sales are showing good growth. We are pleased with our progress.” Moss has speeded up its store refit programme, with 11 completed so far this year and plans to turn upside-down another 69 stores (out of 128) in the following months.

Moss Bros Group plc (LON:MOSB) announced that stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4 will be paid a dividend of 3.55 pence per share on Friday, June 26. This represents a dividend yield of 3.41 percent.

On a related note, analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald Europe reiterated their ‘buy’ rating and set a 120 pence price target on the stock. The company’s market cap stands at 105.08 million pounds.