Sales have plunged at greetings card specialist Clinton Cards in recent weeks, reflecting the tough trading environment.

The retailer has also had to make a£30 million non-cash goodwill impairment charge for its Birthdays chain.

Clinton’s reported an 8.1 per cent rise in adjusted operating profit to£22.6 million in the year to August 3, when sales were£465 million.

However, the Birthdays charge took the operating loss to£9.6 million, versus a profit of£18.5 million last year.

Like-for-likes rose 1.3 per cent over the year, but in the nine weeks to October 5 they slumped 5.2 per cent at the Clinton’s chain and 2.5 per cent at Birthdays.

Clinton’s chairman Don Lewin said the impairment charge was necessary “against the increasingly difficult economic environment impacting many retailers”, but was confident about Christmas and spring prospects.

He said: “We believe that our product offering and brand positioning at these seasonal events may provide a degree of resilience during these uncertain times.”

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