23rd Nov 2015 08:58
LONDON (Alliance News) - Women's value retailer Bonmarche Holdings PLC on Monday said its pretax profit was dragged down by one-offs in the first half, but revenue increased and like-for-like sales growth accelerated over the period, but the company's shares fell as it warned November trading conditions had been tough.
Shares in Bonmarche were down 6.5% to 275.00p on Monday morning.
Bonmarche said its pretax profit for the 26 weeks to September 26 was GBP5.4 million, down from GBP6.4 million a year earlier, as the group booked costs related to moving its shares to the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange from AIM.
Total revenue, however, rose 6.5% to GBP97.0 million from GBP91.1 million, as like-for-like sales rose 2.0%. The like-for-like sales growth accelerated over the course of the half, with like-for-like sales rising 6.1% in the second quarter. The like-for-like improvement was driven by a good performance from its coats and knitwear lines.
Bonmarche will pay an interim dividend of 2.5 pence per share, up from 2.3p a year earlier.
November trading conditions have, however, been challenging, the company said, due the very mild, wet weather. The group said its outlook for the full year is unchanged, though dependent on trading conditions normalising for the rest of the financial year.
"Bonmarche's performance for the first half of the year has been satisfactory and we have made further progress against our strategic objectives. I am pleased with the improvement in store like-for-like sales, which is a testament to the value of our loyal customer base, in a market which remains challenging," said Beth Butterwick, Bonmarche's chief executive.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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