Ted Baker posts half year loss
Ted Baker has a swung to a £23 million loss in the 28 weeks to 10 August after battling against weak levels of consumer spending and economic uncertainty.
This compares to a pre-tax profit of £24.5 million in the first half of last year.
In its interim results announcement, the fashion retailer said group revenue edged down 0.7% to £303.8 million while retail sales fell by 2.5% to £214.5 million.
Although retail sales in North America increased by 3.1%, sales in the UK and Europe dropped by 3.9%. Meanwhile, sales in the rest of the world were down 15.2%.
Profit before tax, exceptional items and IFRS 162 decreased to a loss of £2.7 million.
Lindsay Page, Ted Baker chief executive, said: “We are continuing to pro-actively manage the significant challenges impacting our sector including weak consumer spending, macro-economic uncertainty, and the accelerating channel shift towards ecommerce. However, we are not immune to these pressures which have impacted our financial performance during the first half of the year.”
During the period, Ted Baker opened a new store in Detroit and a shop in Hamburg, which was its first German store. The company also reorganised its Asia operations to drive long term growth and signed a new product licence partnership for childrenswear.
Page added: “We remain actively focused on cost control and driving further efficiencies. Despite the structural challenges and cyclical pressures on the industry, we remain confident in Ted Baker’s ability to navigate the market and further develop as a global lifestyle brand.”
