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Dr Martens has recorded a 5% fall in pre-tax profits to £57.9m during the six months to September 30, while EBITDA was flat year on year at £88.8m.
The business sold 6.3m pairs of boots, shoes, and sandals, up 400,000 on an underlying basis compared with the same period of 2021, with sales increasing in all three of the group’s key regions, North America, EMEA and APAC.
The company said results would have been even stronger but £10m of revenue from EMEA wholesale partners slipped from September to October due to strikes at the Port of Felixstowe and labour shortages at a Dutch distribution centre.
Dr Martens is currently in the process of transferring control of 14 of the 31 Dr Martens branded franchise stores in Japan to directly operated stores.
In addition, the retailer opened 21 new stores in the period, creating more than 250 jobs globally, and expects to open a further 13-15 in the second half.
The new stores helped the company deliver its strategy, selling more product through its own stores and website, with sales direct to consumers via its own channels jumping 21% year-on-year to £179.8m.
CEO Kenny Wilson said: “I am pleased to report another strong set of results covering the first half of our financial year. Underlying revenue growth was 18% and the EBITDA margin was in line with our guidance. I’d like to thank all Dr. Martens people for their hard work and custodianship over the last six months in helping to deliver these results.
“Our growth is built on the successful execution of our DOCS strategy, led by the DTC-first approach, with DTC revenue up 21%. At the heart of our continued success is the strength of our brand, highlighted by underlying pairs growth and continually improving brand metrics. We have further pricing headroom for AW23 so we will offset cost inflation once again.”
He added: “Although there are economic challenges ahead, we are well positioned for future growth. We will continue to drive growth investment to deliver the DOCS strategy, mainly in new stores, marketing, people, technology and inventory. Reflecting our confidence in the future, our balanced global revenues and our strong balance sheet, the board has decided to increase the interim dividend by 28% to 1.56p per share.”
