Luxury leather goods and clothing brand Mulberry has raised its full year outlook following a strong Christmas trading period.

Mulberry saw sales climb to to £32.3m during the six months to the end of September 2009 while pre-tax profit also grew 16% to £1.5m.

Mulberry said in a stock market statement this morning that since September, Mulberry has continued to trade strongly, especially over the Christmas period. 

The statement added: “The successful launch of the new Alexa handbag range has created demand from both retail and wholesale customers and given added impetus.”

As a result, Mulberry has strengthened its outlook for the full year period ending March 31, 2010 and results are expected to be “significantly” ahead of market expectations.

David O’Brien an analyst at Altium Securities said: “We understand that, while January sales were down slightly year-on-year, due to shortage of stock during the sale period, a higher proportion of revenue was delivered at full margin.

“The wholesale division recovered, which reduced the margin mix of sales at the gross level; but overall sales growth outstripped costs. We anticipate that this will enable management to further invest in the long-term growth of the business.”