Baby Bunting Group Limited has announced its financial results for the fiscal year ending 29 June 2025, revealing significant growth in both sales and profit. The Group’s Pro Forma Net Profit After Tax (NPAT) reached $12.1 million, marking a 228% increase from the previous year’s $3.7 million. Statutory NPAT saw an even more substantial rise, up 462% to $9.5 million from $1.7 million in FY24.

Total sales for the year hit a record $521.9 million, representing a 4.7% increase compared to FY24. Comparable store sales grew by 4.2% year-on-year, with a notable 6.2% increase in the second half of the year. The company’s gross margin improved by 340 basis points to 40.2%, surpassing its FY25 target.

“We’re pleased to deliver a strong FY25 result – with our profit landing at the top end of our guidance range, and a record sales figure – validating the effectiveness of our strategy. Further, in a challenged consumer environment where gross margins have been under pressure, we have delivered 340 bps of improvement, reflecting our disciplined execution. Gross margin of 40.2% was a record for the business,” said Baby Bunting’s CEO, Mark Teperson.

The ‘Store of the Future’ refurbishment program has been a key contributor to the company’s success, delivering a 28% sales uplift across three stores opened in FY25. Teperson stated, “The Store of the Future program has so far exceeded our expectations and customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. The three stores we have refurbished have generated on average 28% higher sales since they re-opened. They’ve also achieved gross margin improvement of around 40 basis points above our network performance for July. We’re excited about rolling our new design out across our network and we have upgraded our targeted growth rate for refurbished stores to 15%-25%.”

Baby Bunting’s exclusive and private label brands accounted for 47.1% of total sales, up 110 basis points from FY24. The company also reported an increase in total active customers to 828,000, a 4.5% rise from the previous year. “Our exclusive and private label brands now represent 47.1% of total sales (up 110 bps on FY24), demonstrating the strength of our product innovation and curation strategy. New customer acquisition remained robust with 6.2% growth, reflecting our refreshed value proposition and marketing approach. Total active customers are now 828,000, up 4.5% on last year,” Teperson noted.

Looking ahead, Baby Bunting plans to complete 10-12 ‘Store of the Future’ refurbishments in FY26, alongside opening five new large format stores and three small format pilot stores. The Group anticipates a pro forma NPAT for FY26 in the range of $17.0 million to $20.0 million, with capital expenditure expected to be between $30 million and $35 million, fully funded through operating cash flow.

“Looking ahead, we are excited about our growth trajectory. The Store of the Future format provides a clear blueprint for shareholder value creation, and we have a strong pipeline of new store opportunities,” Teperson stated.

Net debt improved significantly, decreasing to $4.6 million from $13.0 million at the end of June 2024. The first six weeks of trade to 10 August saw a 4.8% total sales growth and a 4.0% increase in comparable sales.

Teperson concluded, “This result positions Baby Bunting as the undisputed leader in specialty baby retail in Australia, with a clear pathway to sustainable, profitable growth. We remain committed to our target of achieving greater than 10% EBITDA margins on a pre-AASB 16 basis as we execute our strategic plan.”