Parent and child retailer Mothercare has reported its first statutory pre-tax profit in five years. The brand sae a profit growth of £9.7m in the year to 26 March as it continues to work on its turnaround.
UK like-for-likes rose by 3.6% and total revenue increased by 0.3% to £459.7m. UK losses saw a significant reduction of 64%, £6.4%.
However, international like-for-likes fell by 4.5% as profits were effected by economic and currency uncertainties. Mothercare notes that it will be closing loss-making stores and continuing to expand in more promising locations.
The group‘s total underlying profit before tax grew by 51% in the year to £19.6m.
“I’m pleased to report that two years into our turnaround strategy we have recorded a 51% growth in underlying profit before tax and the delivery of our first statutory profit in five years” said Mothercare Chief Executive Mark Newton-Jones.
“The results highlight the significant progress we are making towards returning the UK to profitability. Improvements to our customer offer, both in store and online, and the look and feel of the store estate are driving like-for-like sales growth for a second consecutive year.
“We are also taking the lessons learned from our success in the UK and exporting them to our International markets. This is strengthening our International operations and improving the management of our brand globally” Newton-Jones added.
