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Surf wear business Billabong has suffered a full-year loss of $77.1 million — more than triple its net loss from last year.
Key points:
- Billabong's loss driven by $106.5m write-down in value of brands
- Revenues also down 8.8 per cent to $975m
- Pre-tax earnings slightly below company's forecasts
Billabong reached this result after slashing $106.5 million off the value of its goodwill and brands, including Von Zipper, RVCA, Xcel and Kustom.
The company's revenue slid 8.8 per cent to $974.7 million. This is consistent with the recent trend of unprofitable surf wear firms.
Its earnings before interest and tax (EBITDA) was the one minor bright spot — up slightly, by 0.3 per cent, to $51.1 million.
However, this EBITDA result fell below Billabong's forecast of $52 million to $57 million.
Across the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe the company's revenue fell by 10.1, 7.1 and 9.3 per cent respectively.
However, in regards to "EBITDA Post Global Allocation", its Americas business rose 71.9 per cent to $29.2 million.
"The result in the Americas, on top of a strong EBITDA lift in the first half, gives us confidence that this region, often described as our greatest opportunity, has turned the corner," said Billabong CEO Neil Fiske.
On the other hand, "the weak Australian retail market dragged on the result," the company said in a release to the ASX.
"Retail comparable store sales were down 5 per cent and retail gross margins were behind financial year 2016 by 210 basis points due to higher promotions and clearance markdowns."
The troubled surf wear retailer has not been profitable for several years — losing as much as $860 million (in 2013), and $300 million (in 2012).
In addition, its former CEO Matthew Perin was sentenced to an eight-year prison term after forging his then-wife's signature to illegally obtain a $13 million loan from Commonwealth Bank.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, company-news, australia
First posted