9th Sep 2015 07:13
LONDON (Alliance News) - Laura Ashley Holdings PLC Wednesday said its profit slipped slightly in the first half of its financial year, as revenue declined on weak international sales, but other areas of the business performed well and the company said it is encouraged so far by the second half of the year.
The home furnishings and fashion retailer said that pretax profit in the 26 weeks to August 1 slipped to GBP8.4 million from GBP8.5 million the year before, as revenue fell 3% to GBP139.7 million from GBP144.0 million. Like-for-like retail sales and online revenue grew, however, by 7% and 4.5%, respectively, as hotel revenue rose 44%.
Laura Ashley said that furniture sales increased 8.8% in the period, with like-for-likes up 10.4%, as home accessories revenue rose 8.2% or 10.5% on a like-for-like basis, decorating sales grew 2.1% or 4.0% on a like-for-like basis, but fashion revenue fell 5.0% while like-for-likes rose 0.6%.
The company said it expects its hotel in Hertfordshire to continue growth into the second half of the year.
International franchise and licensing revenue, meanwhile, decreased 31.5% due to a weaker Japanese market following a rise in local sales tax and weak Japanese yen, while political issues in Russia and Ukraine also contributed to an overall poorer performance. Laura Ashley said that performance should improve in the second half, however.
Laura Ashley will pay an interim dividend of 1.00 pence, which is flat year-on-year.
The company added that like-for-like sales were up 5.7% in the five weeks to September 5.
"We are encouraged as we enter the second half of the year. We will continue to work with our overseas franchisees to ensure that we maximise the international opportunities for our franchise partners and the group. Development and improvement of our digital platform, which has been a core group strategy over recent years, will remain a key focus as we strive to deliver a high quality, multi-channel experience for our customers," Chairman Tan Sri Dr Khoo Kay Peng said in a statement.
"The enduring appeal of our great British brand and the loyalty of our worldwide customers give us confidence and optimism that the growth of recent years should continue," the chairman added.
Shares in Laura Ashley opened up 2.7% at 28.50 pence on Wednesday.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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