Naked Brand, Bendon net losses expand as merger approaches

Obi Anyanwu

Опубликовано
15 июн. 2017 г.

Naked Brand Group on Tuesday announced its first quarter results for fiscal 2018. The company, which is due to form a merger with Bendon Limited, posted a 1.7% increase in net sales to $0.46 million, and a net loss of $3.2 million, or $0.35 per share.

 
Naked announced its first quarter results weeks after entering into a reorganization plan and agreement with Bendon Limited. The two companies first proposed a merger in January 2017 and officially entered into an agreement in May. With the merger, Naked would gain Bendon’s global wholesale and retail distribution channels, and Bendon would gain immediate access to the US capital markets.

Increased sales to third party e-commerce websites and specialty and retail accounts drove Naked’s sales increase, but were offset by a decrease in sales to department store accounts. In addition, the first quarter net loss expanded from a loss of $2.5 million, or $0.42 per share, from the previous year.

Gross margin was 22.2% compared to 31.2% in the prior fiscal year, due to a write off of excess materials and a shift in sales to off-price channels. Operating loss also expanded to $3.2 million from a loss of $2.5 million in the prior fiscal year.
 
Though Naked reported an operating loss for the first quarter, the company finished the first quarter with $4.0 million in total cash and cash equivalents compared to $2.9 million in the previous year. The increase was a result of the procurement of additional women’s inventory in connection with the launch of additional women’s products in the prior fiscal year.
 
In addition to announcing its first quarter results, Naked reported selected results for Bendon, which includes an 8.7% increase in net sales to $105.7 million, a 12.7% increase in gross profit to $47.1 million, or 44.6% of sales, and a net loss of $16.3 million, mainly as a result of a $4.2 million write off of prior year tax losses and one time deferred tax adjustments.