Dr Martens holds guidance, says trading in line

(Sharecast News) - UK bootmaker Dr Martens held annual guidance and said trading since the start of the current financial year has been in line with expectations. "As always, the first quarter is the smallest period of our financial year, representing the end of the spring/summer season. As communicated in our recent 2024 results, the current financial year will be very second-half weighted, particularly from a profit perspective," the company said in a brief statement ahead of its annual general meeting in London later on Thursday.

It added that the upcoming autumn/winter 2024 season remained a key focus after issuing a profit warning in April that current-year overall profits could fall by as much as two-thirds as its share price dropped to an all-time low due to continuing problems in the US - its key market.

Dr Martens at the time unveiled plans to axe £20-25m of costs will target savings from "organisational efficiency and design, better procurement and operational streamlining", with the impact not felt until the 2026 financial year.

"We continue to target positive direct-to-consumer growth in the US in the second half. Work on our cost action plan is ongoing and we will provide a detailed update at our first half results in November," the company said.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com