Thursday, 25th March 2004 (4450 views)

Signet, the world's largest jewellery retailer, has defied the weak US dollar to report record annual profits.

The jewellery giant announced pre-tax profits for the year to end-January of £212 million, up six per cent from £200 million the previous year, on sales of £1.6 billion, ahead of analysts' expectations. Signet generates 70 per cent of its income from the US.

Earnings per share were 8p, up from 7.5p a year ago, while the final dividend rose 20 per cent to 2.16p, making a total payout of 2.5p.

Signet chief executive, Terry Burman, said the company, which trades in Britain under the H Samuel and Ernest Jones brands, had also made a good start to its new financial year, including particularly strong Valentine's Day sales.

He confirmed that sales at Signet outlets since January had been ahead on the same period in 2003, but warned that the continuing weakness of the US dollar remained a concern.

Signet said it planned to spend £80 million during 2004 refurbishing stores and adding 70 outlets in the US and 10 in Britain. Last year the company spent £51 million on upgrades and new openings.

 

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