Dr Martens’ profits take a hit due to IPO

The majority of the IPO costs were due to bonuses as it paid a £49.1 million bonus to staff

Dr Martens has enjoyed soaring sales even as the pandemic left many people stuck indoors, although annual profits took a hit thanks to its stock market listing.

The footwear brand and retailer said sales in the 12 months to March 31 jumped 15 per cent year-on-year to £773 million, with strong growth in its online business.

However, pre-tax profits were down 30 per cent to £70.9 million due to costs of £80.5 million associated with Dr Martens’ stock market listing in January.

The majority of the initial public offering (IPO) costs were due to bonuses as it paid a £49.1 million bonus to staff.

Dr Martens did not give figures for each country in which it trades, but said sales in Europe rose 17 per cent, with the same levels of growth in North America and South America.

In the UK, the retailer shut down three stores, leaving 34 in total, but said trading was strong enough to be able to pay back £1.3 million claimed under the UK Government’s furlough scheme.

In the Asia-Pacific region sales grew just seven per cent due to slower growth in Japan. The country is Dr Martens’ largest market in the area. The retailer has a higher number of stores in Japan and they were closed due to the pandemic for large parts of the year.

The retailer’s revenue from China surged 46 per cent.

The majority of Dr Martens’ global growth came from online sales, where revenues from its website were up 73 per cent – meaning its ecommerce business now accounts for 30 per cent of all sales.

By comparison, sales in physical stores were down 40 per cent to £99.7 million.

The company’s wholesale business saw growth of 18 per cent to £437.9 million as it focused on “quality partners”.

This saw strong growth from online-only retailers to which sell Dr Martens products and “robust trading” in the US.