AAP Finance

Breville shares boiling on 20% profit lift

By AAP Newswire

Breville shares have soared to an all-time high after an expansion into Germany and Austria helped satisfy investors' appetites and deliver a 19.7 per cent lift in first-half profit to $43.5 million.

Shares in the kitchen appliance giant were up by 19.68 per cent, or $2.35, to $14.29 at 1300 AEDT on Thursday.

The company's total revenue rose 15.4 per cent to $440 million in the six months to December 31, up from $381 million.

Breville will pay an 18.5 cent interim dividend, 60 per cent franked, up from 16.5 cents this time last year.

The company attributed the result to strong international sales growth, particularly in Europe and North America, which grew in constant currency revenue by 32 per cent and 7.1 per cent respectively.

The company entered Germany and Austria in the 2018/19 financial year, which helped grow its European footprint to two thirds the size of the Australian and New Zealand market.

"The first half in Germany shows very encouraging signs, with revenue being already 42 per cent larger than the first half when we entered the UK in FY 13/14, which shows the speed and scale benefits we are getting from our centralized approach to market expansion," the company said in a statement to the ASX.

Breville aims to continue this European expansion with the company's Sage brand in the United Kingdom scheduled to expand into Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg in the second half of 2019 and Spain in the first half of 2020.

Breville's North American operations recorded a strong performance, thanks to hefty sales in beverage and juicing in the US.

The region pulled in $214.0 million in revenue compared to $514 million in Europe and $74.1 million in Australia and New Zealand.


* Net profit up 19.7pct to $43.5m

* Revenue up 15.4pct to $440.4m

* Interim dividend up 2.0 cents to 18.5 cents, 60pct franked