Burberry shares up amid £150m share buyback announcement

Shares in luxury British fashion brand Burberry ticked up on Wednesday, after the group announced a plan to return £150 million to shareholders.

Burberry announced the plan after a series of cost saving initiatives had allowed the company to raise around £900 million in cash.

The group reported revenue of £2.73 billion for the year to 31 March, a 1 per cent fall compared with £2.77 billion reported back in 2017.

Operating profit rose to £410 million from £394 million, with earnings per share up to 68.4p, from 64.9p.

The company also raised the dividend to 41.3p per share, up from 38.9p in 2017.

Earlier this year, the luxe label announced the departure of their long standing chief creative officer Christopher Bailey.

Bailey was replaced by italian designer Riccardo Tisci, who formerly headed Givenchy.

Chief Executive Marco Gobbetti, commented: “In a year of transition, we are pleased with our performance as we began to execute our strategy,”

“While the task of transforming Burberry is still before us, the first steps we implemented to re-energise our brand are showing promising early signs,” added Mr Gobbetti.

“With Riccardo Tisci now on board and a strong leadership team in place, we are excited about the year ahead and remain fully focused on our strategy to deliver long-term sustainable value.”

Mr Gobbetti joined the house back in July of last year, and has been tasked with overhauling the luxury brand, in light of years of falling sales and profits.

Gobbetti, who joined from Celine, is set to focus upon revitalising Burberry, and further breaking into the high fashion market.

Burberry is best known for its iconic check print alongside its quintessentially British trench coats.

Shares in the company are currently trading up 2.25 percent as of 12.08PM (GMT), as the market reacts to the announcement.

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