Bonmarche interim profit drops amid flat sales but FY guidance backed

Budget women's clothing retailer Bonmarche - which warned on profits back in September - posted a drop in interim profit on Tuesday amid flat sales.

In the 26-week period to 29 September, underlying pre-tax profit declined to £3.3m from £4.2m in the same period a year ago on revenue of £97.9m, up just 0.1%. Combined like-for-like sales were down 1%, with online sales up 28.9% but store-only LFL sales down 4%.

Underlying basic earnings per share for the half came in at 5.3p, down from 6.8p the year before, while basic EPS was 3.3p versus 6.8p.

Chief executive Helen Connolly said: "Whilst store trading has been impacted by the general weaker consumer sentiment and footfall seen across the market, we have continued to improve our proposition, particularly our digital capabilities and with a broader, modernised product offer, which is reflected in our strong online performance."

The company backed its September guidance of FY19 underlying pre-tax profit of £5.5m, providing that sales during the key Black Friday through to Christmas trading period meet expectations.

"Despite the challenging market, the health and fundamentals of the business remain strong and the board remains confident in the strategy and in Bonmarche's long-term prospects," Connolly said.

Bonmarche declared an interim dividend of 2.5p per share, in line with last year's dividend, and said it expects to maintain the total dividend for the year at 7.75p a share.

In its profit warning earlier this year, the company pointed to uncertainty regarding high street footfall amid weaker demand.

At 1440 GMT, the shares were up 3.2% to 84p.