Berghaus: Loss widens after lower sales through JD Sports

A fall in sales through JD Sports saw outdoor clothes brand Berghaus make a pre-tax loss for the sixth year in a row, it has been revealed.

The Sunderland-headquartered business, which is owned by the Pentland Group, has reported a pre-tax loss of £9.1m for 2023, after also making a loss of £3m in 2022, according to newly-filed accounts with Companies House.

The last time Berghaus made a pre-tax profit was the £1m it reported in 2017. Since then it has lost more than £21m.

The new results also show its turnover fell from £81.1m to £79.6m over the same 12-month period.

The ultimate parent company of Berghaus, Pentland Group, is also the majority owner of FTSE 100 group, JD Sports.

UK sales fall for Berghaus but brand enjoys international growth

A statement signed off by the Berghaus board said: “The movement in the year is due to a slight fall in sales alongside increased cost of sales due to inflationary pressures.”

It added: “Given the straightforward nature of the business, the key performance indicators are limited to revenue, which in 2023, has fallen due to a decline in trading from JD outdoors, which produced a strong performance in 2022.”

Berghaus reported a UK turnover of £68.3m for the year, down from £70.5m. However, its sales continental Europe and in Ireland rose from £10.3m to £11.1m.

Pentland’s brands also include the likes of Canterbury of New Zealand, Speedo, Mitre, Kickers and Ellesse.

In separately-filed accounts, Elleese reported a turnover of £12.9m for 2023, down from the £16.3m it achieved in 2022.

Its pre-tax profit also fell from £7.4m to £5.8m over the same period.

The brand’s UK sales were cut from £8.5m to £5m but increased from £1.8m to £3.1m continental Europe and in Ireland.

Elleese’s turnover also rose from £269,000 to £391,000 in the Americas but dropped from £1.8m to £1.2m in Asia-Pacific.

Also in newly-filed accounts, the company behind Kickers posted a turnover of £22.2m for 2023, down from £23m.

Its pre-tax loss also widened from £439,000 to £2.2m over the financial year.