KMD: Kathmandu, Rip Curl owner posts huge $105 million loss
The parent company of Kathmandu and Rip Curl has posted a shock $NZ93.6 million ($A105 million) statutory loss - its worst in at least a decade.
KMD Brands said when excluding a $45.5 million non-cash writedown of its Oboz footwear business and other items, it still lost $NZ28.3 million on an underlying basis for the year to July 31.
KMD said it was once again not paying shareholders a dividend, as it hasn’t since 2023, and was taking steps to carefully manage capital.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.KMD announced earlier this month it was closing 21 stores, mostly outside Australia, out of its global portfolio of 328 company-owned Kathmandu and Rip Curl shops.
The Christchurch-headquartered, dual-listed company said on Wednesday it had also recently restructured its business in a move designed to save $NZ5 million a year.
The 2024/25 results are much worse than those of a year previous, when KMD Brands posted a statutory loss of $NZ48.3 million and an underlying loss of $NZ1.1 million.
Before that KMD Brands had been profitable since at least 2014/15, a review of its financials shows.
Sales for 2024/25 were up one per cent to $NZ989 million, but operating expenses grew 3.9 per cent to $NZ541.6 million.
As for its individual businesses, its Rip Curl surf lifestyle brand made $NZ30.6 million in underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amorisation (EBIDTA), down 27 per cent from last year, while its Kathmandu outdoor store chain posted a $NZ1.3 million EBITDA loss after a $16 million profit in 2023/24.
Oboz Footwear, its Montana-based line of hiking boots, recorded a $NZ3.3 million EBITDA loss, from a $NZ300,000 loss the year before.
KMD said that in a challenging trading environment, net working capital efficiency - managing its cashflows, essentially - was a key focus for the group.
As of July 31, KMD had $NZ157.7 million in net working capital, down $NZ40.6 from a year ago.
It had a net debt position of $NZ52.8 million, with funding headroom of around $NZ235 million.
In a promising sign, KMD’s August sales were up 10.5 per cent above last year, with Kathmandu’s same store sales up 22 per cent year-on-year.
In early trading, KMD’s ASX-listed shares were up 2.4 per cent to 21.5 cents - still leaving them down 44.9 per cent for the year.
