# Bootmaker Dr Martens warns on profit as finance chief walks Author: Pal Sinha, Barnali Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali Published: 2023-04-14 Category: INVESTING Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/investing Meta Title: Dr Martens Issues Profit Warning Amid CFO Departure Meta Description: Discover why Dr Martens issued its third profit warning in five months and learn about the challenges the bootmaker is facing in its latest update. URL: https://financedigest.com/bootmaker-dr-martens-warns-on-profit-as-finance-chief-walkshtml ![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/2023-04-14t062951z1lynxmpej3d05irtroptp4health-coronavirus-global-fashion-1736814151856-compressed.jpg) # Bootmaker Dr Martens warns on profit as finance chief walks By Prerna Bedi (Reuters) -Dr Martens issued its third profit warning in five months on Friday, as it struggled with higher-than-expected costs at a new Los Angeles (LA) distribution centre. The British company, whose pricey work boots have been fashionable since the 1960s, also said its Chief Financial Officer Jon Mortimore would leave once it finds a replacement. Mortimore’s resignation comes as Dr Martens [issued its third profit](https://www.financedigest.com/uks-j-d-wetherspoon-returns-to-profit-as-supply-issues-ease.html "UK’s J D Wetherspoon returns to profit as supply issues ease") warning since November, when it flagged a sharp hit to profit margins on weaker-than-expected demand before Christmas. In January, the maker of the clunky 1460 boots with yellow stitching commonly known as “DMs” had flagged lower [core profit](https://www.financedigest.com/hellofresh-sees-2023-core-profit-of-460-540-million-euros.html "HelloFresh sees 2023 core profit of 460-540 million euros") after struggling with bottleneck issues at its LA distribution centre, affecting its capacity to meet wholesale demand. Shipments from its LA [operation were back](https://www.financedigest.com/ubisoft-vows-to-get-back-to-operating-margin-above-20-in-medium-term.html "Ubisoft vows to get back to operating margin above 20% in medium term") to normal levels, it said on Friday. Shares in Dr Martens, which made its [market debut in 2021 with a market capitalisation of $5 billion](https://www.financedigest.com/b2b-telecommunication-market-to-more-than-us-27-billion.html "B2B Telecommunication Market to more than US$ 27 billion"), were up about 2% to 144.1 pence at 0750 GMT. They have fallen by nearly two-thirds from their initial public [offering price](https://www.financedigest.com/twitter-shares-cruise-towards-musks-offer-price-as-deal-deadline-looms.html "Twitter shares cruise towards Musk’s offer price as deal deadline looms"). The bootmaker has also been grappling with softer demand in the United States, its second largest market by revenue, with the fourth quarter seeing revenue grow 6%, mainly driven by Europe, Middle East and Africa as well as [Asia Pacific](https://www.financedigest.com/britains-superdry-sells-asia-pacific-ip-for-50-million.html "Britain’s Superdry sells Asia Pacific IP for million"). Dr Martens had said the problems at its LA distribution centre, which opened about nine months ago, were due to a “combination of people and process issues” and sent members of its EMEA and global [supply chain](https://www.financedigest.com/5-steps-to-successful-supply-chain-finance.html "5 Steps to successful supply chain finance") teams to fix the issues. Incremental [costs in LA were about 15 million pounds](https://www.financedigest.com/commonenergy-mistakes-costing-homeowners-hundreds-of-pounds-each-year.html "Commonenergy mistakes costing homeowners hundreds of pounds each year") ($18.80 million), above the 8-11 million pounds expected initially, as container costs were higher than anticipated, it said. The London-based [firm now expects core profit](https://www.financedigest.com/pizza-firm-dp-eurasia-delivers-profit-rise-evaluating-russian-business.html "Pizza firm DP Eurasia delivers profit rise, evaluating Russian business") for the year ending March to be around 245 million pounds, down from its earlier forecast of 250 million pounds to 260 million pounds. ($1 = 0.7980 pounds) (Reporting by Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh Venkateshwaran and Alexander Smith) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. ---