Shoe Zone full-year revenues tick higher

Discount footwear retailer Shoe Zone reported a small uptick in full-year revenue on Thursday as it said pre-tax profit for the year is expected to be in line with revised market expectations.

The company - which warned in August that full-year results would be below its expectations amid "challenging" conditions - said that while trading conditions in the second half remained challenging, the Big Box and digital growth elements of its strategy have continued to progress strongly.

As a result, revenues in the 53 weeks to 5 October edged up to £161.9m from £160.6m in 2018 and the group said pre-tax profit for the year should be in line with market views.

The company closed the year with a net cash balance of £11.3m compared to £15.7m the year before.

It ended the year with 500 stores, having opened 24 and closed 16 during the period. Of the new store openings, 21 were the continued rollout of the Big Box format, two were high street stores and one was the new hybrid format.

As at the close of the year, it had 40 Big Box stores, consistent with its target of 45 stores by the end of December 2019.

Chief executive Anthony Smith said: "Shoe Zone has ended this difficult year in line with our revised expectations. It is early days in the new financial year but we have been encouraged by the performance so far. There are a further twenty Big Box openings planned for the coming year which, alongside our strong digital momentum, will continue to drive growth in the future."

At 0920 BST, the shares were up 8% at 128p.