Brokers warned of an increasingly difficult outlook for fashion group Alexon after the retailer issued another profit warning.

Alexon, which is assessing its capital structure, also said it was in talks about a potential sale with a number of interested parties.

Seymour Pierce cut its Alexon price target from 8p to just 3p and has pencilled in a full-year loss of £500,000 compared with a previous forecast of a £1.5m profit.

The broker said: “It appears the company has not been able to get a second capital raising programme off the ground with the support of its shareholders.

“The turnaround strategy is very much unproven and the consumer outlook is unlikely to get easier.”

Panmure cautioned: “Long-suffering shareholders are left looking at a crumbling margin recovery story and a lack of upside to the shares. Perhaps an offer may be forthcoming, but this is by no means guaranteed.”

Alexon, which owns womenswear chains including Ann Harvey, Eastex and Alexon, reported a 9% like-for-like sales fall in the first three weeks of August, improving to a decline of 1% in the final week.

The retailer said online continued to grow – up 118% at the half-year – that reshaping of its property portfolio is on track and that refitted stores and concessions are outperforming the rest of its estate. 

The retailer said it would provide a “detailed update” on developments when it issues interim results at the end of this month.

Topics