The Reject Shop Limited (TRS) beat previously provided guidance to record a full year NPAT result of $19 million, up 21.8% on the previous year. However, the company said the first six weeks of FY10 had already shown signs of what a difficult year ahead it would be.

Looking at the results, The Reject Shop reported sales grew from $346.9 million to $412.2 million, or 18.8% in comparison to the FY08. The company also expanded with 22 new stores.

The Reject Shop declared a final dividend of 23c per share, fully franked. This takes the full year dividend to 55c per share, up on the 48c per share recorded last year.
 
Managing director, Gerry Masters, said the extreme volatility in exchange rates and general market uncertainty had made for a challenging year.

“During the year we continued our program to ensure our business is positioned for long-term growth.,” Mr Masters said.

“The implementation of our new SAP IT system, which required significant commitment across the business, was a resounding success and provides the necessary IT backbone to support future initiatives.”

Looking ahead, Mr Masters said further overseas freight consolidation centres to come on line and the preparation for the new Queensland distribution centre would make the year ahead demanding.

“Sales for the first six weeks of FY2010 have been marginally below expectations,” Mr Masters said.

“This has been a result of inventory imbalances caused by re-aligning volume as price changes occurred and some impact from delayed store openings.”

The company has planned the opening of 23 new stores for the first half and forecast and NPAT for FY10 of between $21.4 million and $21.6 million.

As at 1409 AEST, The Reject Shop shares were down 35c to $13.27.