Cettire sashays to an $8m profit as luxury goods prove resilient in tough times

Specialist online retailer Cettire (ASX: CTT) is proving that luxury brands remain resilient in tough times after the company nearly doubled gross profit in the first half of FY23, bouncing back into the black with net earnings of $8.02 million.

The global online retailer, led by founder Dean Mintz, posted a 65 per cent surge in revenue to $187.7 million for the six months to the end of December, pushing it close to the $209.9 million in revenue recorded for the full year in FY22.

Gross profit for the half year jumped to $47.02 million from $24.71 million a year earlier.

Cettire reports that the ‘demand environment remains healthy’ with momentum continuing in the current half-year.

“It has been an exceptional half for Cettire as we continue to grow rapidly while delivering significant profitability,” says Mintz.

“I am particularly pleased that we have been able to continue our growth trajectory while cycling a period of significant marketing investment in Q2-FY22.

“Having successfully executed against the strategy outlined at our FY22 results, the H1-FY23 result highlights the potential of our unique business model as well as the benefits of our proprietary technology platform as we continue to scale globally.”

Cettire is a global online retailer that sells a large selection of personal luxury goods such as Gucci, Fendi, Dolce and Gabana, and Prada via its website.

The group's growth strategy includes the creation of localised website in key markets, which is facilitated through its proprietary storefront software.

During the December half, Cettire deployed multi-language features through the release of a Chinese language site and a Chinese language version of the company’s mobile apps.

Cettire says it broadened its partnership with Klarna in Europe, including the UK, which has delivered a 101 per cent increase in gross revenues from these markets.

Cettire’s profit was buoyed by strong growth across its global supply chain, with the company's available inventory now topping $1.2 billion.

The positive momentum has continued into the latest half year, reflected in January sales revenue which was up 80 per cent than the same time last year. Cettire aims to be EBITDA positive in the second half.

Investors pushed Cettire’s shares almost 14 per cent higher to $2.08 in early trade following the profit announcement. The shares eased back to be 4 per cent higher at $1.89 by midday (AEDT).