- Half-year pre-tax profits jump 112% to £7m
- UK like-for-likes rise 3.8%
- International suffers due to “currency headwinds”
Mothercare has reported a more than doubling of half-year pre-tax profits as its turnaround plan begins to have impact.
In the UK the retailer said a focus on full price products had driven higher margins and 3.8% like-for-like sales growth. Mothercare said its new store format was “going down well with customers”.
Online sales rose 22% and now account for 36% of revenue in its UK business.
Losses from its UK business, in the 28 weeks to October 10, more than halved to £6.1m.
Group underlying pre-tax profits in the 28-week period jumped 112.1% to £7m.
Mothercare is undergoing a turnaround plan under chief executive Mark Newton-Jones after a period of falling sales and profits.
Newton-Jones said: “We are a year into our turnaround; making good progress against each of our strategic pillars and as a result underlying profits for the first half have more than doubled.”
In its international business, underlying profits fell 14.2%, while like-for-likes dropped 2.3%. The retailer blamed “increased currency and economic headwinds”.
Looking ahead, Newton-Jones added: “Overall, expectations for the full year out-turn are unchanged.”
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