Burberry facing pay row gets sales boost from China

Burberry gave a boost to new chief executive Marco Gobbetti only a week after he took the helm, saying rebounding sales in China are more than compensating for continued weakness in the US.

First-quarter retail revenue rose 3% on an underlying basis, to £478m (€540.3m), beating analysts’ estimates of £471m (€532m), the company said. The shares rose the most in about two months.

Results were lifted by cost cutting and by strength in mainland China, where luxury-goods sales are bouncing back after a multi-year slump. Sales in the Asia-Pacific region rose by a mid-single-digit percentage. The Americas remained weak, underlining the challenge Mr Gobbetti faces in putting the trenchcoat maker back on a path to sustainable growth.