Premier Investments profit soars 21pc

PREMIER Investments, the retailer behind brands including Just Jeans and Portmans, has brushed off the retail gloom and lifted its first half profit by 21 per cent.

The group, which has been rejuvenating its clothing brands, lifted its profit to $46.5 million while revenues rose 2.6 per cent to $460.3 million.

The rise in earnings was attributed to outstanding results from womenswear retailer chains Portmans and Dotti, as well as improved profits at Just Jeans and Jacqui E.

Cost cuts also helped.

Chief executive Mark McInnes did not give any guidance on the outlook for the retailer's full year earnings.

However, he said trading for the first six weeks of the second half of the group's fiscal year were in line with expectations.

"Despite the severe pressures facing all Australian retailers, Premier continues to be well positioned to take advantage of all its growth opportunities," he said.

Premier lifted its fully-franked interim dividend by one cent to 19 cents a share.

Chairman Solomon Lew said benefits from the retailer's six-point earnings improvement plan, which began 18 months ago, had helped lift profits. The group's costs had fallen 20 per cent, margins had improved and online sales were up by 51 per cent.

While Portmans and Dotti had shown great improvements, work was underway to improve the Jay Jays jeans chain.

Meanwhile, Premier plans to open more stores for its stationary brand Smiggle, which has been a huge hit in Singapore.

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Dow soars to highest in more than 5 years

STRONG reports on the US housing market and durable goods orders propelled stocks higher today, with the much-watched Dow index reaching its highest level in more than five years.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 175.24 (1.26 per cent) to 14,075.37, reaching its best finish since October 12, 2007.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 19.05 (1.27 per cent) to 1515.99, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 32.61 (1.04 per cent) to 3162.26.

The gains came after reports showed US pending home sales rebounded sharply in January to the highest level in almost three years.

Also, durable goods orders in January, excluding volatile aircraft, surged 1.9 per cent, with gains particularly strong in capital goods, suggesting business confidence in the economy in upcoming months.

Hugh Johnson of Hugh Johnson Advisers, said markets were also cheered by comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi that suggested accomodative monetary policy would remain in force on both sides of the Atlantic for the foreseeable future.

The market has also begun to conclude that mandatory US spending cuts due to take effect on Saturday "does not mean the end of the world", Mr Johnson said. "The recognition is that the economy will continue to expand in 2013 and 2014."

All but one of the blue-chip companies in the Dow Jones index closed the day higher.

Among the biggest gainers were JPMorgan Chase, which rose 3.5 per cent after announcing it would trim 19,000 jobs by the end of 2014.

Also gaining was aerospace giant Boeing (up 2.3 per cent), industrial giant Caterpillar (up 2.6 per cent) and technology giant Microsoft (up 1.6 per cent).

Travel website Priceline.com picked up 2.8 per cent after reporting significantly higher profits than a year ago.

Upscale handbag maker Coach jumped 2.8 per cent on speculation that the company could be an acquisition target.

Target declined 1.5 per cent despite reporting earnings that bested analyst expectations. However, the market reacted to comments that the company faces "a highly promotional retail environment and continued consumer uncertainty".

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year bond rose to 1.90 per cent from 1.88 per cent yesterday, while the 30-year rose to 3.10 per cent from 3.08 per cent.

Bond prices and yields move inversely.

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