Laura Ashley half year profit blooms

LONDON (ShareCast) - Home furnishings and fashion retailer Laura Ashley said half year pre-tax profit increased nearly 14 per cent and while it remains mindful of the tough retail it is confident of further progress in the second half.

Pre-tax profit increased to £8.3m for the 26 weeks to 28 July 2012 from £7.3m the year before. Total (Other OTC: TTFNF.PK - news) group sales climbed to £145.4m during the period from £135.3m before.

UK like-for-like sales were up 3.9% during the period and for the 32 weeks to 8 September like for like sales grew 4.2%.

Total UK retail sales rose 6.1% to £127.5m and franchise revenues increased 15% to £13.7m during the 26-week period.

Its (Euronext: ALITS.NX - news) international franchising operations continue to grow with two additional stores opened in Russia during the first half and with more store openings in Japan (EUREX: FMJP.EX - news) , Taiwan and Australia, adding to its 263 franchised stores in 29 territories worldwide. It said it continues to seek new partners in Asian, South American (Frankfurt: A0MLL6 - news) and European territories.

Licensing income increased by 11% to £2m while reported e-Commerce revenue grew 21.4%. Non-store revenue increased 18.7%.

"As we enter the second half of the year, we have seen the momentum of the first half of the year maintained with UK like-for-like sales growth of 4.2%. While we remain mindful of the broader consumer environment and its challenges, we are confident that this progress can be maintained," the group said.

The group has £27.8m net cash and the interim dividend has been maintained at 1p per share.


CJ