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Paul Smith sizes up expansion with £24m profits

The Nottingham-headquartered company said it was now planning a series of expansions across Europe and Australia after recording a sales boost across its divisions.

Paul Smith Group Holdings specialises in the design, license, wholesale and retail of men's and women's fashion wear.

For the year ending 30 June 2011, the Paul Smith Group's profit line soared to £24.2m, up from £17.6m in the previous year.

A dividend of £309,000 was paid to directors at the year-end, a drop from the £3.4m which was handed out in 2010.

Revenue also soared during the year as sales of £196m were recorded in 2011 - a boost of more than £20m on its 2010 results, which resulted in a £174.4m turnover.

The directors described the results as "very pleasing" in a statement.

Paul Smith's wholesale, retail and licensed businesses all reported growth, including a 5 per cent rise in its Japanese division.

"Retail sales benefited from new shop openings as well as increased sales on a like-for-like basis in existing shops and on the internet," said the company. "Despite a very difficult year in the Japanese market [which accounts for the majority of the group's licensed sales], licensed income increased during the year."

Having invested in its Nottingham IT, warehousing and distribution services over the past year, the company said it was now planning to relocate its head office staff to larger premises in the city within the next year.

Paul Smith Group Holdings said it would now continue its strategy of shop openings, with new outlets planned for Amsterdam, Melbourne, Australia and an extension to its London site having bought the adjacent premises.

New wholesale showrooms are also planned for Dusseldorf in Germany and Paris.

The UK consumer base continued to be the main source of income for the group; £70.5m was derived from domestic sales while £56.6m came from Europe and the remaining £68.8m from the rest of the world.

Over the 12 months, Paul Smith Group created an additional 61 roles, taking the total number of employees to 979.

Source:www.insidermedia.com|

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