Birks Group Inc., which operates 46 luxury jewelry stores in Canada, Florida and Georgia, reported financial results for the fiscal year ended March 26, 2016. Jean-Christophe Bédos, President and Chief Executive Officer of Birks Group, said “We are delighted that the company improved its net income for the year by $14.0 million over last year, from a net loss of $8.6 million last year to a net income of $5.4 million this year. We are especially proud that our comparable store sales increased by 3% in a very challenging retail environment.”

Comparable store sales (calculated on a constant exchange rate basis) increased by 3 percent, and net sales stood at $285.8 million from $301.6 million in fiscal 2015. Gross profit was $109.4 million, or 38.3 percent of net sales, for fiscal 2016, compared to $117.8 million, or 39.1% of net sales, for fiscal 2015.

Bédos further noted that, “Following a year of restructuring our company’s operations, the main factors that contributed to our success in fiscal 2016 included our continued dedication to enhancing customer experiences via our new store designs, the successful launch of our new collections and our creative marketing campaigns.” He also identified cost controls and rigorous cash management as some steps taken that helped the results. He was confident that the company is ‘positioning itself to meet a challenging retail environment and to continue to produce positive results in fiscal year 2017’.