N Brown has announced a profit improvement as it focuses on sales

N Brown, which owns brands including JD Williams, Simply Be and Jacamo, said it had benefited from a focus on profitable sales and tight cost control.

The retailer posted a statutory profit of £0.2m in the period to August 31, versus a loss of £2.8m in the comparable previous period. Group sales in the half fell 6.7% to £272.2m.

Product revenue was down 7.9%, while financial services revenue fell 4.6%.

N Brown said that trading during the first five weeks of the third quarter was ”encouraging, with product revenue trajectory improving to -2% against the prior year”. The retailer anticipates ”continued improvement in product revenue trajectory” in the second half. Full-year adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in line with management expectations.

N Brown interim executive chair and chief executive Steve Johnson said: “We have built on our return to profit [last year] by delivering year-on-year progression in the first half.

“We have continued to deliver against our self-funded transformational priorities, including the successful launch of the new JD Williams website and our product information management system to the remaining strategic brands, whilst our financial services transformation continues to progress well with the new platform now in testing.

”These developments will enhance the customer experience and will be supported by strengthened marketing activity to help position the business for sustainable profitable growth.”