Mothercare Announce Interim Results
International drives growth; now 860 stores oversease
Mothercare plc announces interim results for the 28 weeks (first half) ended 9 October 2010.
Financial Results
•Group sales £397.1m, up 2.5% (2009: £387.3m)
•Worldwide network sales(1) £590.2m, up 7.5% (2009: £549.1m)
•Group underlying profit(1) before tax £12.2m, up 22.0% (2009: £10.0m) after £2.0m share based payment charge (2009: £6.1m)
•Group profit before tax £0.3m (2009: loss of £7.1m)
•Underlying basic EPS 10.3p, up 22.6% (2009: 8.4p)
•Interim dividend 6.4p, up 16.4% (2009: 5.5p)
Key Highlights
Strong first half for International:
•International franchisee retail sales(1) £293.0m, up 17.3%. H1 overseas retail sales exceed UK retail sales for first time
•112 new international stores; retail space up 13%. 840 overseas stores in 53 countries at H1, now 860. Opened 50th store in India. Increased 2010/11 store opening target from 100 to 150
•Acquired 25% stake in Australia franchisee to add to existing 30% stakes in China and India
Resilient UK performance:
•Total UK sales £295.1m, down 0.4%. Like-for-like sales(1) down 3.8% (down 2.4% inc. VAT), partly due to planned cannibalisation from store openings
•Property restructure progressing well. 20 smaller in-town stores closed, 7 larger parenting centres opened
Continuing multi-channel growth:
•Direct in Home sales £36.8m; up 15.8%. Direct in Store sales £27.9m; up 6.4%
•Total Direct sales £64.7m; up 11.6%
•New Early Learning Centre website launched in time for peak trading
New Wholesale channel expanding rapidly:
•Total Wholesale sales doubled to £12.6m (2009: £6.3m)
•mini club, a new children's clothing partnership with Boots, launched in around 370 UK stores
Ben Gordon, Chief Executive, said: "International is going from strength to strength with retail sales up 17.3% and profits up 33.9%. We now have 860 stores overseas in 53 countries and are on track to meet our new target to open at least 150 in total this year. In the UK which remains challenging, the important property restructure is progressing well, Direct continues to grow strongly and our new Wholesale channel was boosted by the successful launch of mini club, our new clothing partnership with Boots.
"The UK consumer environment remains uncertain and we continue to plan cautiously. We are however benefiting significantly from the strategic initiatives we have taken and from the rapid growth of International, Direct and Wholesale. Having regard to the overall performance of the group and its underlying cashflow, the interim dividend has been increased by 16.4%."
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