Joules has continued to defy the fashion doldrums with another set of full-year results that boast strong profit and sales growth.

The fashion retailer recorded a 28.5% spike in pre-tax profit to £130m in 52 weeks to May 27 spurred by an 18.4% jump in sales to £186m.

The retailer’s number of active customers jumped 23.4% year on year to 1.2 million.

Colin Porter Joules

Colin Porter said Joules has made ‘excellent progress’ with its expansion strategy

Joules’ UK sales increased 16.2% during the period while its international sales across countries including the US and Germany spiked 40.4%, comprising 13.1% of the retailer’s group revenue.

The retailer operated 123 stores in the UK and Ireland at year-end.

Its gross margin rose by 25 basis points to 55.7% during the period.

Chief executive Colin Porter said: “It has been another strong year of growth for the Joules brand, with our continued expansion within the UK and international markets enabling the group to a profit performance ahead of initial expectations.

“This performance is testament to the strength and appeal of the Joules brand, our unique product offer and our growing and loyal customer base. We have made excellent progress against our strategy of expanding the brand both at home and abroad, and the board remains confident that this momentum will continue in our 2019 financial year.”