1 February 2010, London -Leading cashmere business Dawson
International expects its full year sales and profits to come in ahead of
market forecasts after a strong fourth quarter at its UK and US knitwear
businesses more than offset continued weakness in its home furnishings
business.
Dawson which owns the prestigious cashmere knitwear brand Barrie,
says its UK knitwear business is said to have benefited from the timing of high
margin sales to couture customers and this significantly improved margins in
the final quarter. According to Dawson this is likely to have some negative
impact on the first quarter of 2010 with the sales mix impact reversing.
Dawson's US Knitwear business sustained sales and margins
through the final quarter in spite of the fragile US economic environment.
Sales of branded lines and overall margin levels were both stronger than expected.
In contrast Dawson's private label home furnishings business
experienced poor margins throughout the year with the significant decline in sterling
compared with the US dollar impacting its cost of sales. Dawson says that while
this improved somewhat in the second half of the year it is anticipated that
the business will report a small loss overall.
Source: Sharecast
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