Burberry posts rising Q1 sales driven by Asia, Americas

British luxury fashion group Burberry said Thursday that revenues rose in the first quarter of its financial year, aided by strong growth in Asia and the Americas.

Sales in a comparable basis gained 12 percent to 370 million pounds ($633 million) in the three months to June 30, compared with a year earlier, the London-listed firm said in a trading update.

Burberry enjoyed double-digit sales growth in Asia-Pacific, led by the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, and also in the Americas region.

"This first-quarter performance reflects our focus on striving to give customers the best possible experience of the Burberry brand through ongoing investment in retail, digital and service, both on and off-line," said chief executive Christopher Bailey in the statement.

"As we build on this strong start to the year, our priority remains to connect consumers ever closer to Burberry through authentic products and experiences that celebrate our unique heritage," added Bailey, who is also Burberry's chief creative officer.

"With great brand momentum and a focused vision, we remain confident of delivering sustainable, profitable growth into the future."

On a downbeat note, Burberry warned that adverse foreign exchange rate movements would weigh more heavily than expected.

If exchange rates remain at their current levels, Burberry added that it expects to take a hit of 55 million pounds on its retail and wholesale profit for the full financial year.

That was higher than the previous estimate of 40 million pounds that was given in May.

"The health of the business remains strong, but currency headwinds have increased," said chief financial officer Carol Fairweather.

"As we continue to grow the business globally, the FX [foreign exchange] impact in [fiscal year 2015] will be bigger, too."