Earnings Call: H2 2026

Aug 26, 2026

Summary

FY26 saw robust global expansion with 160 new stores, 14.6% sales growth, and a 60bps gross margin increase to 82.6%. Americas and Europe led with 30% growth each, while FY27 has started strong with sales up 16.4% and comp sales up 3%.

I would like to advise all participants that this call is being recorded. I would now like to welcome John Cheston, Global CEO, to begin the presentation. John, over to you. Many thanks, Paulie. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for taking the time to dial in today. On the call today, you have our Executive Deputy Chair, Mark McInnes, our Group CFO, Chris Lauder, and myself, John Cheston, Global CEO. As you are aware, this morning we published our full year results for the ASX, and we would like to talk you through them now. I will do a page turn through the highlights of the presentation, happy to take questions at the end. If we firstly turn to page three, we will talk through some of the highlights of the year. I am pleased today to present another strong result for FY26. As for rollout, we maintained the momentum built in the first half, opening 75 new stores in the second half to take the full year count to 160 new stores opened. Now take the store network to 1,136 stores at financial year-end. This allowed us to deliver growth in total sales of 14.6%, which including comparable store sales up 2% on prior year. The highlight of this performance was the delivery of close to 30% growth in both the Americas and European markets, reflecting the focus on growing these markets with quality stores. Our gross margin continued its consistent growth up 60 basis points to 82.6%. We continue to invest in the cost structure of the business to support ongoing growth in stores and online. With all of this combining to deliver EBIT of AUD 158.2 million, up 14.1%, and NPAT of AUD 95.6 million, up 10.7%, which has allowed the board to announce an increased final dividend of AUD 0.33, up 22% on prior year, to be paid in October. As you will all know, we opened the first trial stores of our potential new global brand, Jewells, in the U.K. in June last year, and the results of the Jewells business are included in the reported FY26 results for the full period in the current year that I just noted and we will talk to further today. As Jewells continues to be in its startup phase, we will not specifically be talking about its performance as part of today's results. However, its impact is included in the numbers we will be talking to. If we turn to page five, you can see the sales performance for the period that shows the benefit of our continued store network expansion with consistent sales growth over a number of years. Looking to our regions, growth was once again strong in the European and Americas markets at close to 30% for each market for the financial year, with those regions continuing to provide consistent new store growth. The APAC regions continue to be our biggest opportunity through a renewed focus on operational excellence with structural changes to our operations team in place and now starting to deliver benefits. I would like to hand over to Chris Lauder, our CFO, to talk through our financials. Thanks, Chris. Thanks, John. Morning, all. If we turn to page 6, gross profit was AUD 775.3 million at an 82.6% gross margin, up on last year by 60 basis points and represents a continuation of the strong year-on-year margin growth we've seen over a sustained period, with 270 basis points of improvement since FY23 alone. This result has been delivered from our continued focus on sourcing ongoing promotional efficiency and improved shrinkage. We've continued to focus on the efficiency of our inventory position and are very pleased that we've been able to maintain our inventory in a good space. Turning to page 7, I will talk about profit. As you can see, we've again been able to deliver strong growth in profit, continuing the consistent trend over a number of years, while continuing to invest into the business with a focus on service and management structures, technology and supply chain to support our constantly growing business. While at the same time, also being able to invest in the startup phase of the Jewells business. Turning to page 8, you will see that the cash generated by the business has again been a highlight, with cash from operations before interest and tax of AUD 294.5 million for the financial year, up 21%, reflecting tight management of our working capital and the continuing operational strength of the business. Cash capital expenditure for the period was AUD 58.5 million, predominantly for new store fit-outs as well as store refurbishments and investment into support technology. Cash interest and lease payments were also higher than prior year due to the growth in the store network. Turning to page 9, you will see that the balance sheet remains strong with a clean inventory position and significant liquidity available to fund growth. The strong profit result for the period and continued strong cash flow and balance sheet position has allowed the board to announce a final dividend of AUD 0.33 per share, up 22% on prior year, taking full-year dividends to AUD 0.86 and representing the distribution of 100% of earnings for the financial year. I may hand back to John. Thank you, Chris. If we turn to page 10, a quick update on store numbers. The key driver of future growth for Lovisa continues to be in our global store rollout. We finished the financial year with 1,136 stores trading in over 50 markets with 160 new stores opened in the financial year. We remain focused on continuing to grow the store network globally, and we are pleased that we were able to maintain the momentum from the first half through the second half of FY26. The strong base we have built in the European market allowed that market to deliver the largest share of new store growth for the period, with 76 new stores, including 34 in the U.K. and 20 in Germany, and provides us with a very strong base to continue to expand from. In the Americas region, we were able to continue the momentum in our U.S. and Canadian store rollout with 44 new stores open in the Americas during the period. We were also able to open six new franchisee markets in Reunion, Mauritius, Ghana, Kenya, Burkina Faso, and Iraq. Turning to pages 11 through 16, you will see some images of our latest store fit-out concept, which we call Series 5, which we have continued to roll out to new and refurbished stores around the world. This concept is designed to give a more refined and elevated feel to our stores and adds a new piercing studio store install concept, along with new elements such as digital screens. To date, we have opened 53 stores under this concept with a strong pipeline of further investment in store look and feel coming for FY27. On page 17, I will talk to the trading update for the first eight weeks of FY27. Trading for the first eight weeks of the new financial year saw total sales on a constant currency basis up 16.4% on the same period in FY26, with comparable store sales for this period up +3% and showing an improving momentum through the month of August. We continue to focus on opportunities for expanding both our physical and digital store network with a long new store runway supporting continued store rollout momentum, and our balance sheet remains strong with available cash and debt facilities supporting continued investment in growth. To summarize the financial year on slide 18, we were able to again deliver strong sales growth for the period with store network growth combined with comp sales up 2% to deliver total sales growth of +17.6. Our global expansion delivered 160 new stores opened in the financial year, finishing the year with a total network of 1,136 stores. Gross margins were again outstanding at 82.6%, an improvement of 60 basis points on the prior year, which was achieved along with a clean inventory position. This combines to deliver strong profit growth with EBITDA of AUD 301 million, up 20.9% on the prior year, EBIT of AUD 158.2 million, up 14.1%, and NPAT of AUD 95.6 million, up 10.7%, with our strong cash flow and balance sheet position allowing the board to announce a final dividend of AUD 0.33 per share to be paid in October. We are also very pleased to be able to announce a solid start to the new financial year, with total sales up 16.4% and comp sales up 3% for the first eight weeks. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank our entire global team for the outstanding work they are doing to deliver these results. With that, I'd like to invite you today to ask any questions you have. Many thanks. Thank you. As mentioned, we will now begin the Q&A session. For those listening by phone and would like to ask a question, please press star followed by 1 on your telephone keypad to raise your hand and join the queue. To withdraw your question, simply press star 1 again. When called upon, please use your handset, ensure your line is unmuted, and be ready to ask your question. Today, we kindly ask that you limit your questions to one per person, and if time permits, we will take any follow-ups. Your first question is from the line of James Wilson of Macquarie. Please go ahead. Hi, guys. Just firstly, I'm conscious you said that you're not going to give us any specific numbers around Jewells, but can you give us a sense of whether the trial was loss-making or profit-making in the second half of the year, please? Thank you, James. We've not disclosed the second half. We did disclose it in the first half. I think our view would be it's a similar number in the second half to the first half. What we would say is we're excited with the new trial that we've got in our Brent Cross store in North London. We're seeing some very encouraging results coming through from that concept. It is a somewhat different iteration to the first concept, and the initial signs are very encouraging. Then once we're in a position to give some more color on Jewells, we'll do so. I think that's all I would say on that today. Your next question comes from the line of Garth Francis of MST Marquee. Your line is open. Good morning, John, Chris, and Mark. The pace of stores slowed in the second half, and I appreciate that you made some commentary around making sure that any lease renewals were entered into with specific return hurdles in mind. Does that mean that we should expect a similar pace of stores, sort of a 1.5 per week net openings for FY27? Look, we opened 160 over the financial year. I would be looking to a similar number to that in FY27. We've got a good pipeline established. We're focused on the markets we wish to open our stores. We know where we're getting good traction. So I would see a similar number of stores in FY27 to that of FY26. So a similar pace of closures as well then? No. I'm talking to the store openings. As I said, we've set 160 last year. We'll be looking for a similar 160 for the new financial year. We assess all of our stores in terms of their profit. We'll take a decision on stores if we need to close some, if we need to refit some, we need to relocate some. But I really wish for you to focus more on, we're looking at 160 new store openings for FY27. Thank you. Operator, you have one line. Your next question is from the line of Chami Ratnapala of Bell Potter Securities. Please go ahead. Thank you. Good morning, John and Chris. Thanks for taking my question. Just want to focus on the ANZ region. The ANZ store performance looks like the average store revenue in the second half is down more than in the first half. Could you talk to what is driving this, and has there been any improvement as we go into FY 2027 with the global comps more reflecting a quite strong level? I think the most important thing I would like everybody to acknowledge is we are a global business. We have got over 1,100 stores. We have seen 30% growth in the Americas, we have seen 30% growth in Europe, and we have got a very long runway of store openings. So we look at our business in a global perspective. We are fortunate in some regards that over the years we have built a global business, one of only very few Australian global businesses. So we look to talk to the global number and the growth that we have delivered over the financial year. We are insulated in some regards, and we are naturally hedged in some regards to the business over in Australia and New Zealand. So I would really prefer people to look at us as a global business and the great growth we are delivering as a global entity. Your next question is from the line of Sam Teeger at Citi. Please go ahead. Hi, guys. I wanted to ask on working capital. It seemed pretty strong with a 13% reduction in inventory despite 18% sales growth. Has there been any structural efficiencies in inventory efficiency that we should think about going forward, or are there some one-off benefits in 2026? Yeah. We are always looking to improve our inventory efficiency down to that sort of BAU, and we have definitely made some improvements there. But a big part of that movement is just the movement in spot translation rates at the end of the financial year. If you just look at the rates, that is cool. You can see equivalent decrease in trade creditors and inventory. So it is on both sides of the balance sheet. Thanks. Your next question is from the line of Allan Franklin of Canaccord Genuity. Please go ahead. Thank you. Good morning. Just a question on the efficiency of the business as you see it today. I understand you are talking at a global profile, so let us do that. You have invested hard into the cost base in FY 2026, setting up support structures and other structures globally. Obviously, noting the inventory comment you just talked to, but to what extent do you feel you have now invested heavily in the business and may be willing to let more sort of operating leverage flow through in forward-looking periods? Look, our focus is always to manage our CODB as tightly as we can. We are fully okay as a business that has a strong margin. If we can deliver comp sales growth which are acceptable, if we can continue with that strong margin delivery that we continue to execute, and we can manage our CODB tightly, we are all fully aware that the operating leverage of that will filter down to the bottom line. So our focuses remain and will always remain on comp sales, on managing costs, on managing our margin, and seeing that filter through to the bottom line. Your next question comes from the line of Aryan Norozi of Jarden. Please go ahead. Hi, guys. Hope you are obviously can sneak two little ones. Just on the result, you had about AUD 8 million in impairment losses, and loss on sale and PP&E in the second half of 2026, which obviously hurt the result. To what extent is that sort of repeatable? Then also, did you book a tariff benefit in the gross margin in the second half, please? Yeah. Aryan, you can obviously see in the store count that we closed 43 stores in the financial year and relocated, I think it is 12. Mainly, you said loss on sales, just loss on disposals where you close stores and you have still got a written down value, so you have got to write it off. That and the ongoing review process of our store network that we always do means that some stores will close, and we will have to raise impairment provisions against or write off. Basically, that number is just reflective of that number of store closures for the period. What was your second question? Oh, sorry, the tariff. Did you benefit from tariff refunds in the second half? To what extent did that help the 83% gross margin, please? Yeah. On a whole year basis, the tariffs are in there and then they came back. So there is no impact from the tariffs on the full financial year. So there is a little bit of movement between the first half and the second half. But yeah, it is full year, so there is not an impact. Sorry. Thank you, guys. Thanks. Yeah. Next question is from the line of Chenny Wang of Morgan Stanley. Your line is open. Oh, hi, guys. Thanks for taking my question. Just wanted to see if we could get an update on how the new Series 5 stores are trading versus the existing fleet, and maybe what that uplift looks like. I guess maybe secondarily to that, just given you've rolled out that concept globally, interested in the consistency of the uplift across regions. Thank you. We don't give color in terms of the uplift we get from a Series 5 or whatever iteration. We don't give that level of detail. Obviously, it's sufficiently acceptable for us to be rolling out 53 stores and to continue to roll it out in the next financial year. I'd take that as a positive. Chris quite rightly always says it's part of doing business. You have to keep reinvesting your fleet and keep relevant. Some of it is a necessity to do to ensure we're relevant to our customers. But clearly, it's been sufficiently acceptable for us to continue to roll this proposition out. Got it. Thanks, guys. There is a question from the line of John Campbell at Jefferies. Please go ahead. Thanks for that. Just back to store rollout. A few years ago, I believe you were struggling to open stores in the U.S. that basically met your return hurdles, effectively, as I understand it, because rents were too high and they required key money and larger footprints and other things. That seems to have turned around in probably the last year or so, and you are opening more stores in North America. Can you just comment on whether leasing terms have got better over there and it is generally easier for you? I think we would own and will continue to own that it is on us in terms of what we can do inside our house, and that is to do with product allocation, marketing, and retail operational standards. Rather than talk to what is happening with landlords and rents, we believe we have done an improved job. We wanted to, and we have delivered on that. We have got a capable team. We have got a motivated team. I would look to the continued roll-outs in the Americas in terms of our improving efficiency and our operational standards. Okay. No real impediments, I guess, is what you are saying because of your performance. No. We are a well-represented brand over there. We are coveted by landlords to come into the centers. We have got a proposition they like. We have got good standards of stores, good operational standards. I have recently been over in the U.S. for five or six weeks. I have got a landlord base who are hungry for a Lovisa business to be in their centers. Yes. Thanks for that. Pleasure. You have a follow-up question from James Wilson at Macquarie. Your line is open. Hi, guys. Conscious you wanted to talk on a global level, but could I just ask about the refurb and CapEx program in ANZ in particular. Can you just run us through maybe how much of a drag closures for refurbishments might have been in the second half and whether they were weighted to earlier in the half or later to the half? There's not really a lot to see there. We renovate or refit a store when the lease comes up, when we've negotiated with the landlords for a renewal, when we've got some tenure so that we can depreciate the capital. We've obviously been sufficiently encouraged with our new proposition to roll it out. But it's normal cadence or rhythm of the business is what we've been seeing in the second half, to be totally candid. Thanks, guys. Thank you. Before we move on to the next few questions, a reminder, if you would like to join the queue, to press star one. You have a follow-up question from Garth Francis at MST Marquee. Please go ahead. Thanks for taking the follow-up. Just on the gross margin, seasonality is historically skewed to the first half. You have obviously had a good performance in the second half. I am assuming from the comments related to the tariff that was part of the benefit there. Just looking into 2027, do you expect the seasonality to return to historics? And us not basing 1H 2027 off the performance of the second half? As Chris said, there was a little bit in the second half, but on the blended year, what went out came back, so there is nothing in the full year. Our focus ostensibly will always be on markdown management and better products. The team who work closely with me are focused on better product, better cost price negotiation with the vendors, lower markdown management, which means we retain more than we give away. I think we are pleased with the numbers we are reporting today in terms of the margin and the 60 basis points growth, and our endeavor will be to continue to deliver acceptable gross margins for the shareholders. Can you sort of unpack the gross margin benefit from those different buckets? I mean, was it substantially from a better promotional activity that you saw that uplift or from the sourcing? I am not trying to be opaque, but it is a combination of everything. If you put all the levers into better product, better buying, better quantification, lower markdown, better marketing, you get an outcome which is acceptable, and our focus is on all those inputs to get the right output. Thank you. Your next question is from the line of Wei Chen of RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead. Hey, guys. Sorry, I joined the call a little bit late, so I am not sure if I have missed this. But just on tariffs, just wondering whether you have confirmed whether you had received a tariff refund from the U.S. in the second half, or are you expecting anything in FY 2027? Yes. So we had already had the question, and the answer was that in the full year, there is no real impact from the U.S. tariffs because we paid them in the first half and then got some refunds in the second half. So it nets out to nothing in the full year. Yeah, and as for what comes in the next financial year, we will see what happens in the U.S., but that is out of our control. Okay, thanks. You have a follow-up question from Chami Ratnapala of Bell Potter Securities. Your line is open. Thank you. Thanks, John and Chris, again, and thanks for taking my follow-up question. Maybe in the global context for the group, looking at Europe, which is your largest group, would you be able to give us an update of how the store pipeline looks like with the last bit of updates in June from your biggest competitor there? We're focused on what we can focus on. We know the representative countries well. We know how many stores we have in those respective countries. We know how many stores we believe we can have in those respective countries, and we're just focused on delivering that number that we believe we can operate in. Thank you. Welcome. You have a follow-up question from Aryan Norozi of Jarden. Please go ahead. Aryan, you might be on mute. Sorry, guys. Sorry. Just on the comps, July, August, obviously up 3% in like-for-likes, and you are cycling +6 last year, and for the rest of the half, the comps get way easier, like +1. Can you just run through if there is any one-off benefits or timing benefit impacts from this year in terms of that explains the stronger comp update and whether that normalizes, or is the way I am thinking about it in terms of getting easier in terms of comparables the right way? Thanks. Well, you are right to point out that we are cycling some big numbers because as we have called out this time last year, the first 8 weeks we are up 5.6%. So we are 3% up on the 5.6%. We have called out there has been improved momentum in the month of August, which is correct because that is how we are seeing it and that is what is happening. Credit to the product team, credit to the merchandising team, and the operational team for delivering those 3% comps. As we have said, particularly pleasing in the last few weeks as we have progressed through into August. We are very cognizant of the numbers ahead in terms of what comp sales were up against last year. I would say we have got all of our plans in a row to continue to deliver the barometer of health, which is a strong LFL. That is our focus. That is what we do every day. You have a follow-up question from Sam Teeger at Citi. Your line is open. Oh, hi again. Thank you. I wanted to ask around the higher rate of store closures. I was wondering, have your internal hurdles become more stringent or have the performance of the stores closed softened? Have they. I do not know what. Say it. Sorry, I did not catch the final bit. Like, is- Say that again. Is the reason you are closing more. Yeah. Sure. So I am asking, is the reason that you are closing more stores a function of your internal hurdles becoming more stringent, or is it because the performance of the stores have softened? Our internal hurdles have not softened. Our internal hurdles have always been the same and will continue to be the same. We simply believe that there's better quality stores that we can do deals on with landlords in better centers and better locations. If there's a better option, that's what we're going to take. What I would say is the quality of the stores that we've been opening in the last financial year have been of a high quality. We monitor the performance of those stores against their respective pro forma, against their ROI, and where we see there's a better opportunity, that's what we've been taking. Makes sense. Are the marginal returns on new stores still consistent with the historical Lovisa rollout model? How has that changed over the last decade as you guys have scaled globally? Sam, you know as well as anyone that's not a simple question to answer and one that we would ever engage in. Things have changed a lot in the last ten years in the business, so we just play every store as it comes and make sure it hits our return hurdles. Great. Thank you. This concludes our Q&A session for today. I would like to hand back over to John for closing remarks. Thank you, Paulie. Well, once again, thank you for taking the time to join us on this call this morning. We are pleased to announce these numbers today for FY26, and we are equally encouraged with the start to FY27 with the 3% comp growth improving in the month of August. If we see any of you later, look forward to it. But for now, thank you for taking the time to join Chris, myself, and Mark this morning. Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. Thank you all for joining us. You may now disconnect.