The times were tough but Super Retail Group, the owner of Supercheap Auto, BCF, Ray’s Outdoors and Goldcross Cycles, was able to maintain its sales and succeeded with a 60 per cent increase in net profit after tax to $24.9 million for its half year results of 2011.
Super Retail Group managing director Peter Birtles said the results were a testament to the resilience of the businesses and the of continued investment in store development, range development, trade partnerships, supply chain and team member development.
"These results build on the strong momentum we've established throughout the group and reflect the strength of our business model," he said.
"We are particularly pleased with the positive outcomes we've achieved from our investment in strategic initiatives over the past five years, which are evidenced in these results.
"During the period, we've successfully managed to maintain sales growth, while also investing in our store network and delivering improvements in our business operations.”
The company’s flagship store, Supercheap Auto, reported like-for-like sales growth of 3.4 per cent, against like-for-like sales of 6.1 per cent in the prior comparative period. Goldcross Cycles' like-for-like sales growth was negative 13.5 per cent, reflecting the slowdown in the bicycle market.
Meanwhile, the opening of 15 new Ray’s Outdoor stores contributed to a 60 per cent sales increase of $201.4 million. BCF's like-for-like sales growth was 1.5 per cent, against like-for-like sales growth of 8.8 per cent in the prior comparative period.
“This positive result was respectable given the number of wet weeks along the East Coast of Australia during the period,” the company said.
According to Birtles, the group will keep at its business model, which includes looking at growth opportunities.
"We plan to continue to grow our store network, opening two to three new Auto & Cycle stores and four to six new Leisure stores during the second half."