24th May 2018 12:55
LONDON (Alliance News) - Shoe Zone PLC said on Thursday it saw a profit increase for the first half of its financial year, as revenue saw steady growth.
The footwear retailer reported a pretax profit of GBP955,000 for the six months to the end of March, up from GBP309,000 the year before, on revenue that rose to GBP73.7 million from GBP72.9 million due to Shoe Zone driving sales through its core estate, and the rollout of its Big Box store format.
However, product margins for the period dipped to 60.6% from 62.8% the year before due to higher write downs early in the year and sales mix in the second quarter.
Shoe Zone declared an interim dividend of 3.5 pence per share, up from 3.4p the year before.
The company said the strong trading performance for the first half has carried on into the second half of the year, and will continue its rollout of Big Box stores.
"This has been a good first half for the group, trading in line with management's expectations and achieving profitable revenue growth. Our on-going strategic focus on the property portfolio has continued to benefit the Group, with careful management of leases and measured opening of core and Big Box stores, taking advantage of the favourable retail rental environment," said Chief Executive Nick Davis.
"Trading momentum has continued into the second half, in line with expectations for the full year. With our growth strategy in place, we believe we are favourably insulated against many of the structural sector issues and the board remains confident of the outlook for Shoe Zone," Davis added.
Shares in Shoe Zone were up 1.0% at 173.65 pence on Thursday.
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