There was revenue growth across the board for Burberry during the third quarter, but the health of its retail operations and success in China stood out.

Progress in these two areas is part and parcel of Burberry's intended growth strategy, with plans to "accelerate retail-led growth" and "invest in under-penetrated markets".

The company's retail sales in the third quarter increased by 36% on an underlying basis, ahead of a 27% revenue rise for the company as a whole.

Meanwhile, scaling back in Spain should help mitigate price challenges lurking on the horizon.

A research note by Seymour Pierce says: "These results demonstrate the brand momentum with a strong performance delivered by all areas of the business at the same time as management tackles legacy issues such as Spain and undertakes major infrastructure investment.

The analyst believes Burberry is capable of delivering 20% profit growth "for the foreseeable future".

New space generated 8% of Burberry's retail growth in Q3, while China, which transferred from wholesale to retail on 1 September 2010, contributed a further 14%. Burberry said that same-store sales grew over 30% in the stores it has acquired in China.

This included a flagship store in Beijing, Burberry said, showcasing its most advanced digital in-store technology.

Burberry's wholesale revenue including China increased by 15%, with strong consumer demand leading to higher in-season orders.

Stacey Cartwright, Burberry EVP chief financial officer, tells a conference call: "What's particularly pleasing is the consistency of our growth across retail and wholesale, in all four product divisions and all three major regions.

"This to us demonstrates the strong response by consumers to our product, marketing and consumer services and all facilitated by the investment we've made in our infrastructure, be it supply chain, planning or dynamic approach to replenishment."

Burberry has placed "operational excellence" as another pillar in its business strategy, and in keeping with this the company announced in February 2010 it was to restructure its Spanish operations.

As a result Burberry's Spanish sales included GBP7m and GBP3m in wholesale during the third quarter, compared with GBP10m and GBP8m in the same period last year.

The company's other slide was licensing revenue in the third quarter, which decreased by 7% on an underlying basis. However, this slump was also anticipated and in line with Burberry's migration towards a retail model.

Inflated raw materials and tough comparables are going to make life tougher for Burberry going forwards.

However, the company seems to be keeping its house in order during a purple patch that has lasted the first three quarters of this year and looks set to continue.

"We now expect adjusted profit before tax for the current financial year to be at the top end of market expectations," adds CEO Angela Ahrendts.

Click here to read Burberry's third quarter sales results on just-style from earlier today (18 January).