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Strong retail sales boost Moss Bros H1 earnings

29 Nov '13

2 min read

Robust retail sales underpinned the profitability of leading British menswear company Moss Bros Group Plc. in the first half of the current financial year.

UK’s top formal menswear specialist company posted a 1.2 per cent rise in total sales for the continuing business at 53.2 million pounds in the 26 weeks ended July 27, 2013 from the same period a year ago.

Driven by strong revenue from the e-commerce segment, like-for-like retail sales were up 1.7 per cent to 44 million pounds in the first half of this financial year from the year ago period.

Online sales surged by 164 per cent in the period driven by the launch of the company’s new retail website in January which witnessed a significant increase in customer traffic flow and conversion rates.

E-commerce sales were also benefited from the launch of a mobile enabled site in May which now accounts for 8 per cent of total internet sales.

However, a dip in hire sales weighed on the financial results of the company in H1 2013-14. Like-for-Like hire sales declined 7.2 per cent, year on year in the first half of the financial year 2013-14.

The company posted a pre-tax profit from continuing operations of 2.2 million pounds in the first half of the 2013-14 financial year, the same as last year.

Despite a subdued economic outlook, Moss Bros Group Plc is confident of achieving healthy sales and earnings performance in the second half of the year.

The company’s Autumn/Winter collection has received good response from customers, setting the pace for healthy sales growth in the upcoming Christmas and holiday shopping period.

Like-for-Like for sales in the eight weeks to September 21, 2013 increased 4.9 per cent, auguring well for the earnings outlook of Moss Bros.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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