German footwear retailer Birkenstock has warned that 2024 EBITDA margins are expected to see a “modest headwind” due to increased costs, despite posting booming sales and profits in its “most successful” year to date.
Birkenstock posted an 11% rise in adjusted EBITDA for the full year to September 30, 2023, reaching a total of €483m (£414.5m).
The footwear retailer also reported revenue of €1.49bn (£1.28bn), up 20% on both a reported and constant currency basis for the period.
Birkenstock hailed its double-digit growth across “all segments and channels” and said this was boosted by an increase in average selling price by 14% year on year, as well as unit growth of 6%.
Revenue in the Americas was up 21%, while revenue in both Europe and the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa regions were up 18% and 24% respectively.
The retailer also highlighted both China and India specifically as “key growth drivers” during the year.
Birkenstock added that it had utilised the net proceeds from its IPO during the year alongside existing cash to “repay a significant portion of debt” after the year ending 2023.
In terms of outlook, the shoe brand said it now anticipates full-year EBITDA to fall between €520m (£446.3m) and €530m (£454.8m), with a “modest headwind” expected to hit margins as a result of “planned ramp-up costs”.
Full-year revenues are anticipated to fall within the range of €1.74bn (£1.49bn) and €1.76bn (£1.51), reflecting overall revenue growth of between 17% and 18%.
Birkenstock chief executive Oliver Reichert said: “We are very pleased with our financial results and performance for fiscal year 2023. The past year has been the most successful in our 250-year-long tradition, and we entered our first year as a publicly listed company shortly thereafter.
“As a footbed company with a unique business model and a proven engineered distribution model, we offer a product with a purpose and that withstands short-term market or fashion trends, because it serves a primal human need – to walk as nature intended.
“For fiscal year 2024, we are confident to further grow our business by tapping significant addressable geographic, category extension and distribution white space, remaining strongly committed to delivering uncompromising premium quality to our customers and undeterred by the broader macroeconomic backdrop.”
Birkenstock also pledged to invest €150m (£128.7m) into bolstering its production capacity, as well as expanding its retail store estate during the year.
No comments yet