Ted Baker hit by 'Beast from the East' and warns of tough months ahead

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in Ted Baker (Other OTC: TBAKF - news) have plunged after it warned of tough trading in the months ahead and said it had been hit by the "Beast from the East".

The British fashion chain's results for the year to 27 January broadly bucked the trend of high street gloom as they showed pre-tax profits up 12.3% to £69m and revenues ahead by 11.4% to £592m.

But the company said that in more recent weeks "unseasonal weather" both in Europe and the US east coast had "an impact on the early part of trading for spring/summer".

The group added: "We anticipate that external trading conditions will remain challenging across many of our global markets."

Ted Baker also said that after stripping out currency movements, sales in its UK and Europe stores had fallen over the year.

Shares fell 8% in morning trading.

The weather impact warning comes after online grocery retailer Ocado said recent conditions in the UK had knocked millions off its sales and profits.

Some economists think the cold snap that saw much of the country grind to a halt will take a chunk out of economic growth figures for the first quarter.

The latest results follow a black day for the high street on Wednesday which saw Carpetright (Other OTC: CGHXF - news) set out plans which could mean 100 store closures, a profit warning from Moss Bros (LSE: MOSB.L - news) , and a squeeze on "big ticket" sales such as kitchens at B&Q.

Ted Baker, which operates in markets from the UK and Europe to America and the Middle East, presented a sunnier picture overall.

In the UK and Europe, representing about half of revenue, sales grew more slowly than in other regions, though were still up by 6.4% - when stripping out currency movements - despite what were described as "challenging trading conditions".

Sales in Ted Baker's stores in this part of the world actually fell on a constant currency basis, by 1.4%, though the company said this reflected a shift to online - where sales rose 34.7% - while wholesale revenues climbed by 9.3%.

Ted Baker now has 532 stores and concessions worldwide, including 195 in the UK, 113 in Europe, 127 in North America, 88 in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, and nine in Australasia.

Founder and chief executive Ray Kelvin said: "I am pleased to report a year of continued progress on Ted Baker’s expansion as a global lifestyle brand.

"Our new collections have been received positively and although we anticipate external trading conditions will remain challenging across many of our global markets, the strength of our brand and business model means we remain well positioned to continue to the group’s momentum."