Top-drawer clothing firm Burberry has reported sharply rising sales in its first half-year trading update since it listed its shares on the stock market.

The company, whose trademark is its tan check fabric, said retail sales from April to September rose 17% in the first six months of this year when compared with the same period last year.

Including new stores and concessions gained from bringing its Asian distributors in-house, sales were up almost a third, showing that the company has taken advantage of the continuing retail boom.

Licensing was also a growth area, with the Japanese in particular lapping up the designs to push sales up 14% - equivalent to 21% had currencies been stable throughout the year.

But wholesale sales were less buoyant, growing just 8% - or 4% without the Asian acquisitions - with single-digit growth predicted for the Spring-Summer 2002-3 order book.

Weak shares

Burberry was spun off by UK retailing giant GUS in July this year, after a long gestation period which began at the height of the late 1990s stock market bubble.

When share prices began their current decline two years ago, the company decided to press on with the stock market flotation regardless.

Shares in the 146-year-old clothing house were sold at 230 pence, the bottom of the 230-290 pence range initially suggested, and are now worth just 204 pence, off a low in early August of 150 pence.

GUS still owns 77.5% of the firm.