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Saturday, 23 February 2008
Billabong International Ltd., the world's largest surfwear maker, said first-half profit declined 2 percent after the rising Australian dollar cut the value of overseas sales.
Net income fell to A$88.7 million ($81 million), or 42.8 cents a share, in the six months ended Dec. 31, from A$90.5 million, or 43.7 cents, a year earlier, Gold Coast, Queensland- based Billabong said in a statement today. Sales rose 8.3 percent to A$665.4 million.
Chief Executive Officer Derek O'Neill, who gets almost three-quarters of revenue from outside Australia, posted his first profit decline as the company battles a currency that gained 11 percent against its U.S. counterpart last year. He maintained earnings forecasts amid expectations of a slowdown in U.S. consumer spending.
``While the company is not immune to general market conditions, this result shows our sales have been, and continue to be, resilient,'' O'Neill said in the statement. ``The U.S. business had a strong January and retains a solid forward order book.''
Billabong reiterated its forecast for annual earnings growth of between 5 percent and 10 percent with earnings-per- share in constant currency terms expected to rise 15 percent.
The first-half profit compares with the A$89.3 million median estimate of five analysts Bloomberg News surveyed by telephone and email.
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