Department store chain House of Fraser like-for-likes jumped 5.4% in its third quarter to October 27 as it notched up adjusted EBITDA of £3m against a £1.3m loss the previous year.

The retailer said its sales performance had continued to “step up” in the run up to Christmas, with like-for-likes up 4% in the first five weeks of its fourth quarter.

In its third quarter, the department store cut pre-tax losses from £19m to £14.4m and from £41.1m to £38m over the year to the end of the third quarter.

Cumulative EBITDA was £2.4m ahead of last year at £13.3m.

Gross transaction value grew 5.2% £246.7m while turnover was up 2.9% to £147.2m.

Fashion and beauty sales increased 4.3% while revenue across the rest of the business jumped 9.7%.

Online sales soared 50% over the period and now represents 9.7% of total sales. The retailer was ranked the most visible fashion retail website in Google search over the period, according to consultant Practicology. Sales from mobile devices now accounts for 25% of online sales.

The retailer also extended its next day delivery offer for purchases made up to 7pm.

House of Fraser chief executive John King said: “We continue to believe that the strategy to invest in our stores and online proposition as well as the further development of our product offering will drive future growth. It continues to be difficult to predict when economic conditions will improve and retail competitor activities have intensified in recent weeks.

“There remains three full weekends of shopping before the Christmas break and accordingly there is more opportunity to deliver sales growth compared to last year.”

House of Fraser stores that were refurbished last year have continued to show a “strong” performance, with Aylesbury, Telford and Milton Keynes recording a combined like-for-like growth of 34.4%.

Its Oxford Street store, which was revamped earlier this year, experienced a 4.3% uplift on the same quarter last year.

Meanwhile, the retailer’s own brand sales grew 2% while margin for the products soared 300 basis points year-on-year. House of Fraser further rolled out its Mary brand, designed by TV star Mary Portas, amongst others.

House of Fraser added to its brand proposition over the period, both in-store and online, with new additions including Hackett and Internet Golfstore Online.  It is planning for further introductions and roll-outs throughout the remainder of the year.

 

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