NATIONAL: Pacific Brands has announced its group sales were down 5.5 per cent for the 2008/09 financial year, compared to the previous year.
The apparel and footwear company reported a total group sales figure of $2 billion, down from $2.12 billion in the previous financial year. The net profit after tax was $102.5 million, down 14.1 per cent from $119.3 million the previous year.
Underwear and hosiery sales were down 1.8 per cent to $625.6 million, outerwear and sport sales dropped 2.3 per cent to $641.4 million and footwear sales declined by seven percent to $251.9 million compared to the previous financial year.
The company cited divested business, discontinued brands and the global financial downturn as contributing factors to the decline. However it reported it is starting the current financial year with a stronger balance sheet due to equity raising and debt refinancing in the second half of the 2008/09 financial year.
The results follow a year of restructuring for the business, during which it closed four factories, decreased its workforce by more than 800 and it increased prices for some products.
Key consumer brands run by the group include Bonds, Berlei, Sheridan, Hard Yakka and Kind Gee. It also produces uniforms on contract for organisations such as the NSW Police Force and Compass Group Europe.