Universal Store (UNI) H2 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Group sales reached $333.3 million, up 15.5% year-over-year, with all three retail banners delivering growth and strong like-for-like sales in Universal Store (+13%) and Perfect Stranger (+25.5%).

• Underlying EBIT rose 15.9% to $54.6 million, driven by sales growth and improved gross margin despite industry discounting.

• Gross margin improved by 100 basis points to 61.1%, supported by product mix, private label growth, and disciplined inventory management.

• Online sales grew 8.6% to $44.4 million, now representing 13.3% of total sales.

• Ongoing investment in people, systems, and store network to support long-term growth.

Financial highlights

• Underlying EBIT was $54.6 million, up 15.9%; EBIT margin at 16.4%.

• Underlying NPAT rose 15.2% to $34.8 million; statutory NPAT declined 32.3% due to a $13.6 million CTC goodwill impairment.

• Earnings per share increased 14.6% to $0.454.

• Operating cash flow rose 23.3% to $98 million; net cash position improved to $17.2 million, up 20.3%.

• Final dividend of 16.5 cps, full-year dividend up 8.5% to 38.5 cps, reflecting an 80% payout ratio.

Outlook and guidance

• FY26 YTD (first seven weeks) DTC sales up 17.2%; Universal Store up 14.7%, Perfect Stranger up 52.8%, CTC DTC up 12.9%.

• Management plans to open 11–17 new stores in FY26 across all brands.

• CTC wholesale expected to remain challenging, representing less than 5% of group sales; focus on D2C channel.

• Continued investment in team capability, store rollout, and technology, with cost of doing business growth expected to moderate.

• Expecting tougher comps in the upcoming peak season, with focus on maintaining like-for-like sales growth.