Quiz swings to full-year loss, shares slide

Quiz shares tumbled on Thursday as the fashion retailer said it swung to a full-year loss as cost-of-living pressures dented consumer demand.

In the year to the end of March, the company swung to a pre-tax loss of £6.7m from a profit of £2.3m the year before, with revenue down 10.6% to £82m.

Quiz highlighted the impact of inflationary pressures on consumer confidence and spending.

Online revenue fell 18% to £24.5m, while revenue from UK stores and concessions declined 8% to £41.7m. The international segment saw an 11% drop to £82m.

The company said it has now begun talks with founder and largest shareholder Tarak Ramzan with regards to the provision of a £1m loan facility "to provide additional liquidity headroom for working capital purposes".

Chief executive Sheraz Ramzan said: "Whilst these results are disappointing - in part driven by the challenging macroeconomic conditions impacting many retailers - we have a clear plan to improve performance by leveraging our key strengths as an omni-channel retailer with a distinctive brand. We have identified several focus areas to build a more resilient business, improve our performance, and return to profitable growth in the medium term.

"In the new financial year to date we have already implemented several operational initiatives which I am confident will support our longer-term turnaround strategy. Whilst trading conditions in the current year have remained challenging and our turnaround will take time, I am pleased with the speed at which as a team we have been able to drive positive changes in the business."

At 0950 BST, the shares were down 18% to 4.18p.