Dr Martens PLC (LSE:DOCS) shares took a giant step higher after the bootmaker reported a strong set of results and upgraded guidance for the new year.
Revenue for the year to 31 March 2022 came to £908.3mln, up 22% on the prior year, while underlying earnings (EBITDA) jumped 28% to £263mln.
The group's two largest regions, Americas and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) generated revenue gains of 29% and 19% respectively, while Asia Pacific was down 10% amid ongoing Covid-19 restrictions in China and other countries.
Management's prioritisation of the direct-to-consumer (DTC) channel increased this element of the revenue mix up six points to 49%, with ecommerce revenue up 11% on the prior year and up 92% compared to two years ago.
Retail enjoyed a good recovery where Covid-19 restrictions were lifted, with revenue up 86% and the DTC mix at 20%, up seven points.
For the 2023 financial year, management now expects "high-teens" revenue growth, with the upgrade resulting from price increases which will take effect from the autumn/winter season (AW22) and spring/summer (SS23), while expectations for volume growth remained unchanged.
"In line with our strategic operating model, we continue to expect price to offset inflation through the P&L," the company said, with factory prices for the new year "now locked in, with a 6% increase year-on-year" for both AW22 and SS23, and "good visibility" over other operating cost lines.
The wholesale order book was said to be "strong", with 85% of full-year expectations confirmed, while DTC trading since the start of the new financial year "has continued in line with our expectations".
Medium-term guidance was also unchanged.
The shares rose 22% to 263.4p in early trading on Wednesday, where they are still down 38% since the start of the year.