House of Fraser half-yearly pre-tax profits dive by £3.1 million |
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Wed, 28 Sep 2005 19:05
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LONDON - The House of Fraser's expansion drive seems to have adversely impacted the pre-tax profits at the departmental store chain as it reported a loss of £3.1 million for the first six months of the year.
The balance sheet for the six months ending July 30 was not a cheerful one for the House of Fraser with the pre-tax profit gap diving from the £1.2 million loss reported at the same time last year. House of Fraser joined French Connection, MFI, B&Q and Matalan in announcing that trading conditions were tough on High Street. The departmental store chain was forced to announce that it would close two of its central London stores early next year.
Fraser's Dickins & Jones outlet in Regent Street, and Barkers department store in Kensington are the stores that are in the line of fire and will shut shop in January 2006. The House of Fraser predicted that there would be a slight drop in its turnover to £288.6 million from the £290.2 million last year. The firm called this loss making balance sheet as “a robust performance in an extremely difficult trading environment.”
Commenting on these figures, House of Fraser chef executive John Coleman said, "We have made a great deal of progress in the period despite an extremely difficult trading environment. We have continued to strengthen our proposition with the opening of the new stores and the acquisitions of Jenners and, more latterly Beatties." The firm acquired Jenners in April for £14.1 million and shelled out £69.4 million for Beatties in August.
"Our focus on offering customers the best selection of branded merchandise and our commitment to tight financial management has ensured the Group is well positioned for the all important Christmas period and to deliver further growth," Coleman added.
Shares in House of Fraser dipped 5 pence to 101 pence amid fears of a profits warning.
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