 The outdoor life is proving lucrative for Blacks |
The decision by Blacks Leisure to focus on its outdoor and boardwear brands appears to have paid off with the firm unveiling a 26% rise in annual profits. Blacks said pre-tax profits before goodwill, and excluding discontinued operations, climbed to �17.9m ($32m).
Like-for-like sales were up by 6.5% over the year to 29 February.
The firm has focused on outdoor brands Blacks and Millets and boardwear brands O'Neill and Free Spirit, since selling sports business First Sport in 2002.
Sales have also been boosted by the acquisition of the Just Add Water boardwear chain which was bought in June last year.
The mixed weather experienced this year has hit sales of outdoor equipment in the new financial year, Blacks said.
But it added that the poor weather had also lifted demand for waterproof clothing.
Like-for-like sales in the eight weeks to 24 April were up 5.3%.
One-Minute World News 
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