4th Dec 2019 09:18
(Alliance News) - Quiz PLC on Wednesday said impairments, as well as a new accounting standard, have resulted in a swing to an interim loss.
Quiz shares were trading 8.8% lower in London on Wednesday morning at 15.25 pence each.
The clothing retailer swung to loss in the six months to the end of September of GBP6.8 million compared to a GBP3.8 million profit a year prior, as revenue declined by 5.1% to GBP63.3 million from GBP66.7 million.
Quiz said profitability was hurt by a one-off GBP7.0 million exceptional charge in relation to store impairments and onerous leases as well as the GBP400,000 negative impact of applying the IFRS16 accounting standard.
Underlying pretax profit - which excludes exceptional charges - decreased to GBP600,000 from GBP4.2 million a year earlier.
Looking ahead, Quiz said it intends to restore the business to its previous levels of profitability.
"Whilst it is disappointing to report a decline of profits year-on-year, management are focused on implementing the actions identified further to the group's business review conducted earlier in 2019. We are pleased to report progress improving gross margins and reducing costs across the business, and will look for further improvements to develop our omni-channel offering," said founder & Chief Executive Tarak Ramzan.
The gross margin generated was in line with expectations at 61.7% compared to 61.9% a year ago and 59.3% generated in the six months to the end of March.
By Evelina Grecenko; [email protected]
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