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Dr Martens has hailed a set of “record results” for the full-year period ending 30 March 2022 with its adjusted pre-tax profits surging 43% to £214.3m, after it revealed it sold “more pairs of boots, shoes, and sandals than at any time in its 62-year history”.
The footwear brand, founded in 1960, revealed record revenues of £908.3m, up 18% compared with the previous year.
The company revealed it sold 14.1 million pairs of boots, shoes, and sandals, up 1.4m on the prior year, and twice as many as four years ago.
The results also showed that the company had hit all the targets set at the time of the IPO in January 2021. This was achieved after such setbacks as factory and store closures, shipping delays and higher costs, caused by the pandemic.
CEO Kenny Wilson said: “This has been a year of outstanding progress, despite an extremely challenging external environment.
“Our success demonstrates the strength of the Dr Martens brand and its universal and evergreen appeal to consumers of all ages and genders in markets around the world.”
He added: “We look forward to the future with confidence as we roll out our DOCS strategy in our seven key markets around the world.”
Whilst Dr Martens sold 32 pairs per thousand people in its most-established market, the UK, last year and that market continues to grow, that figure was much lower at 17 pairs per thousand people in its biggest market, the US, and just four pairs per thousand in Japan, the firm’s biggest market in Asia.
Wilson said: “In some of our seven key markets sales per capita are still less than a quarter of the level of the UK. That’s a massive opportunity for future growth.”
Dr Martens also announced plans to accelerate its new store opening programme from 20-25 per year to 25-35 a year, with the US a major focus. The board added it has also proposed paying a final dividend of 4.28p per share, taking the total for the year to 5.50p and increasing the total pay-out ratio to 30%, from 25% at the half-year.
