By Claire Reilly
Breville has had a stellar year in the financial stakes, with the company today announcing an 8.7 per cent increase in global revenues for the company (for the year ended 30 June 2012) as well as a 44.9 per cent year-on-year increase in net profits after tax (NPAT), which were up to $46 million for the year.
The results were largely due to an incredibly strong performance in the North American market, where Breville posted a 22.4 per cent increase in revenues and a 79.3 per cent increase in earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) year on year.
By comparison, Australia saw a very strong second half to the year (with revenues up 9.9 per cent on 2H FY2011 and EBIT up 53.8 per cent), but this was not able to mitigate the losses seen in the pre-Christmas period. In the 6 months to December 2011, Breville Australia’s revenues were down 6.4 per cent on the prior corresponding period, while EBIT fell 14.8 per cent.
As a result, Australia’s results were relatively unchanged for Breville, with FY2012 revenues edging up 0.2 per cent to $201.7 million and EBIT slipping by 0.3 per cent to $20.1 million.
Compare this with Breville’s North American branch which pulled in $152.2 million in revenues and $34.3 million in earnings – clearly the American market is becoming just as important as the Australian market for the small appliance brand.
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New Zealand also had a strong year, with revenues up 12.8 per cent to $26.8 million and EBIT up 33.8 per cent (albeit off a low base) to $3.6 million.
Speaking about the company’s results was the newly confirmed, full-time CEO, Jack Lord.
“This strong result was driven by continued growth in the group’s international business and an encouraging performance in Australia,” said Lord. “The group’s result has been based on its ability to design and develop innovative world class products and to effectively market these products across multiple geographies.”
According to the company, the best of the innovative new products released during the period included Breville’s Sous Vide machine and new vacuum sealing system, as well as upgrades to its colour range and its frypan collection. And while Australians may prefer manual espresso machines, the release of Breville’s drip filter coffee machine in North America has seen real success.
Speaking specifically about the Australian market, Lord noted that the company’s “pleasing” performance in the second half of the financial year “was a result of increasing our focus on the premium department store and specialist electrical channels and accelerating the launch of higher value Breville-designed products”.