RETAILER Great Universal Stores (GUS) is on track for its partial flotation of Burberry, as it showed profits at the upmarket brand had more than trebled over the last year.

GUS, which also owns catalogue retailer Argos, said Burberry's operating profits for the year to March 31 had increased from £21.7m to £69.5m, while sales rose 47 per cent to £425m.

The group announced its plans to float Burberry - famous for its trenchcoats and its checks - in December, saying a partial listing could be expected within 18 months.

Yesterday, it said this was on target within 12 months, subject to market conditions.

The comments came as GUS said pre-tax profits for the year had fallen to £309.8m, against £379.6m, after being hit by exceptional costs of £84.7m partly relating to restructuring Argos.

Stripping out one-off costs and goodwill, the group said profits rose from £448m to £487m.

Commenting on Burberry's success, John Peace, GUS' chief executive, said: "It has been another fantastic year for this great British luxury brand."

During the year, demand for Burberry products grew significantly, with accessories particularly popular, the group said.

To keep up the brand momentum ahead of the float, GUS plans to launch new Burberry ranges including jeans for the first time in its stores.

Burberry jeans are expected to arrive in high street shops in the next few weeks, and will cost upwards of £100.

Mr Peace added: "Burberry is a business that is travelling - it has not arrived."

A flotation of the Burberry business has been speculated to value it at more than £1bn.

In GUS' other businesses, Experian, its financial information arm, was affected by the US slowdown, but generated profits of £217m, against £201m last time.

Argos Retail, which includes the Argos catalogue chain and GUS' home shopping arm, saw profits rise from £189m to £212m.

And Reality, its call centre and logistics business, saw profits rise from £2.8m to £5.1m.

Mr Peace said the year had seen "good progress in achieving our strategic objectives while generating profit growth and cash".