Shares in Kathmandu have jumped after the outdoor wear retailer outlined a strong recovery in sales since reopening stores in May after coronavirus restrictions were eased in Australia and New Zealand.
Just 37 per cent of shops at Western Australia's biggest malls and main street retail strips are open for trade, laying bare the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the retail sector.
Outdoor wear retailer Kathmandu has seen a surge in online sales in April but will open most of its stores in Australia by the end of this week as strict restrictions for COVID-19 are eased.
Online travel agency Webjet will raise $275 million and retailer Kathmandu Holdings will raise $201 million, to deal with the impact of COVID-19 on their businesses.
Nine Entertainment, BlueScope Steel and more companies have joined the flood of listed firms cancelling their earnings forecasts as coronavirus chaos spreads.
Iconic Aussie sportswear brand Rip Curl has agreed to be acquired by Kathmandu in a $350 million deal that will create a $1 billion Australasian surfing and outdoor adventure company.
Kathmandu's key Australian market appears to be weathering the retail chill, with sales of its signature puffer jackets helping offset a revenue decline in New Zealand and propel the company to a new full-year profit peak of $NZ57.63 million ($A53.3 million).
Kathmandu is rewarding staff after the outdoor equipment retailer's full-year profit surged almost a third to $NZ50.5 million ($46.3 million) thanks to a big jump in Australian sales.
Strong winter sales growth in Australia and New Zealand has boosted outdoor clothing retailer Kathmandu's full-year profit by as much as 13.4 per cent.
Fortescue Metals Group has risen into the ranks of the top 50 most valuable companies on the Australian share market thanks to soaring iron ore prices which have nearly quadrupled the miner's half-year profit and stoked investor demand.
