Industry powerbroker Solomon Lew continues to defy tough trading conditions - raking in a first half profit of $56.8 million.
Premier Investments, chaired by Lew, reported a nine per cent rise for the period with revenue shooting 4.2 per cent to $497 million.
Lew attributed the growth to stronge underlying growth in Premier Retail operations.
This includes strong sales growth, up 4.8 per cent across all brands.
Online channels also delivered above-market growth for the six months to January 24, up 23 per cent.
Lew praised the result in a statement to shareholders.
“This is an excellent result in a challenging market in which consumer confidence remains volatile.
Management has achieved top line sales growth, disciplined cost management and continued margin expansion.
Premier Retail CEO Mark McInnes said the group is pleased with its progress in the first half.
"Particularly our continued implementation of our growth plans for Peter Alexander and Smiggle and the continued turnaround of Jay Jays.
“We are also pleased to have delivered strong margin expansion in the context of a weaker Australian dollar and mixed consumer confidence.
"Our relentless and continued implementation of our six point transformation strategy has been instrumental in achieving today’s result."
Premier brands include Dotti, Jay Jays, Portmans and Peter Alexander.