21st May 2015 09:01
LONDON (Alliance News) - Mothercare PLC's shares soared Thursday after it reported a narrowed pretax loss in its recently-ended financial year, as its international business continued to perform well and it made its first like-for-like sales growth in the UK in five years.
Shares in Mothercare were up 3.7% at 233.06 pence Thursday morning, having almost set a new 52-week high at 239.50p.
The retailer for parents and young children said it cut its pretax loss in half in the year to March 28 to GBP13.1 million from GBP26.3 million. Worldwide sales were up 1% to GBP1.20 billion from GBP1.19 billion as a 2.2% rise in international sales offset a 0.9% decline in UK sales.
It said it is making progress in returning the business to profitability by closing underperforming stores in the UK and investing in product and service both online and in store. After trialling several new store formats, like-for-like sales in the UK have returned to growth at 2% for the first time in five years, margins have stabilised and UK losses were reduced, Mothercare said.
"We are making good progress against all six pillars of our strategy and we will continue to build from this platform in the year ahead. There is still much to do and trading conditions may remain challenging, but we will stay singularly focused on our vision of being the leading global retailer for parents and young children," Chief Executive Mark Newton-Jones said in a statement.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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