21st Sep 2015 06:45
LONDON (Alliance News) - Fashion retailer French Connection Group PLC on Monday said its loss in the first half widened in line with its revised expectations, outlined in a trading update issued earlier in the year, due to the disappointing performance of its Spring 2015 collection.
The company posted a pretax loss of GBP7.9 million for the six months to the end of July, compared to a GBP3.9 million loss a year earlier. In April, the group issued a profit warning thanks to the weak performance of its spring collection, saying its trading performance would be materially weaker than expected for the first half and that its full-year results would miss the market view.
The company said Monday its revenue in the half was down 9.8% to GBP75.8 million, due to a reduction in its store portfolio and weaker like-for-like sales. UK and Europe like-for-like sales were down 11% in the half, albeit against a strong comparative, while wholesale like-for-like revenue was down 2.6%.
The group said its store closure plan is on track, with six stores closed in the first half, while its underlying operating costs were down 1.4%.
French Connection said retail trading in the first six weeks of the second half has been stronger, with like-for-like sales in the UK and Europe flat but full-priced sales in the region up 6.0%, improving its gross margins year-on-year.
"As anticipated in our April trading update it has been a tough trading period for us and we have responded accordingly to ensure we deliver improvements going forwards. We have already closed six stores during the period, with more targeted in the second half. We have also made operational and personnel changes to drive improvements in performance, notably in both design and merchandising," said Chairman and Chief Executive Stephen Marks.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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