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BABY supplies retailer, Baby Bunting (ASX: BBN), had a strong year by anyone's standards, but right now its shares are on a sharp nosedive.
The group's 2017 full year results saw the Victorian based company's profits grow by 47 per cent to $12.2 million, with total sales reaching $278 million for the year.
The group's CEO & Managing Director, Matt Spencer, called 2017 "another successful year for Baby Bunting".
"This is a result our team can be very proud of," says Spencer.
The current dip in its share price can be attributed to a very slow start for FY18 with comparable sales in the six weeks to August 6 down four per cent due to lower pram sales and changes to its promotions.
Baby Buntings board has announced a final fully franked dividend of 4.3 cents per share together with the interim dividend of 2.9 cents per share, the total dividend payment for the year is 7.2 cents per share.
Looking forward, the company expects comparable store sales growth to be mid-single digits for the year.
In FY18 Baby Bunting is planning on opening five to eight new stores in addition to the Munno Para store the group opened in July. Two of these new stores should be opened within the first half of FY18.
The group saw success online in FY17, with online sales increasing by 76 per cent to be 6.4 per cent of the group's total sales.
The group's earnings hit the mid-point of its guidance range at $23 million, up 23 per cent on the 2016 financial year.
Despite these good results for the company, its shares are currently trading down 13.2 per cent to $1.69 at 1PM AEST.
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