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Thursday, 25th March 2004 (5990 views)

Signet, the world's largest jewellery retailer, has defied the weak US dollar to report record annual profits.<BR/><BR/>The jewellery giant announced pre-tax profits for the year to end-January of £212 million, up six per cent from £200 million the previous year, on sales of £1.6 billion, ahead of analysts' expectations. Signet generates 70 per cent of its income from the US.<BR/><BR/>Earnings per share were 8p, up from 7.5p a year ago, while the final dividend rose 20 per cent to 2.16p, making a total payout of 2.5p. <BR/><BR/>Signet chief executive, Terry Burman, said the company, which trades in Britain under the H Samuel and Ernest Jones brands, had also made a good start to its new financial year, including particularly strong Valentine's Day sales.<BR/><BR/>He confirmed that sales at Signet outlets since January had been ahead on the same period in 2003, but warned that the continuing weakness of the US dollar remained a concern.<BR/><BR/>Signet said it planned to spend £80 million during 2004 refurbishing stores and adding 70 outlets in the US and 10 in Britain. Last year the company spent £51 million on upgrades and new openings.

 

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