Burberry Group (LSE:BRBY) on Thursday reported first-half revenue of £1,098m for the 26 weeks to 26 September, up 6% on both a reported and constant currency basis against £1,032m a year earlier, as adjusted operating profit swung to £62m from £19m.
Comparable retail sales rose 4% in the period, matching the 4% growth delivered in the second quarter alone, which the London-listed luxury group said marked a fifth consecutive quarter of growth.
Adjusted diluted earnings per share jumped to 3.4p from 0.6p a year earlier, while the adjusted operating margin widened to 5.7% from 1.9%, up 390 basis points at constant currency.
Reported operating profit turned positive at £54m, against a £18m loss in the prior-year period.
"Two years ago, we launched Burberry Forward. Today, our brand and our business are stronger," said chief executive Joshua Schulman, adding that the first half delivered "growth across Womenswear, Menswear, Childrenswear and Accessories in an uncertain environment."
Wholesale revenue grew 17% at constant currency, ahead of the company's prior guidance, which management attributed to the confidence of its strategic partners.
Gross margin improved to 68.3%, up 40 basis points at constant currency, helped by stronger full-price sales and a one-off supply chain rebate, partly offset by the return to a normalised inventory position ahead of peak trading.
By region, the Americas led with comparable sales growth of 12% and Greater China grew 7%, while EMEIA declined 2%, hit by weaker tourist traffic and softness in the outlet channel; Asia Pacific rose 3%, with Japan still weighed down by falling inbound tourism from mainland China.
Free cash flow was an outflow of £147m, wider than the £50m outflow a year earlier, driven by a £197m working capital outflow as inventory normalised ahead of peak trading season.
Net debt rose to £988m from £852m at the March year-end, though this reflected a return to more typical first-half seasonal cash flow patterns; net debt to adjusted EBITDA stood at 1.7x, improved from 2.2x a year earlier.
The £45m Burberry Forward restructuring charge taken in FY26 contrasted with a far smaller £8m adjusting charge this half, down from £37m in the comparable period last year.
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The Board again elected not to declare an interim dividend, continuing the stance taken throughout FY26.
On guidance, Burberry said it expects wholesale to grow between 10% and 12% for FY27, up from the mid-single-digit growth it had guided for the first half back in May, and does not expect material restructuring charges in the second half.
The company trimmed its FY27 capital expenditure guidance to around £100m, from the around £120m previously flagged, and now expects a currency tailwind of around £20m on revenue with a broadly neutral impact on adjusted operating profit.
Burberry will host a Capital Markets Day in March 2027 and will issue its third-quarter trading update on 21 January 2027.
Separately, Gerry Murphy retired as Chair on the day of the results after serving as a non-executive director since May 2018 and as Chair since July 2018, with William Jackson succeeding him in the role with immediate effect.