McColl's Retail profits slump amid 'highly competitive' markets

McColl's Retail Group reported a slump in interim profit on Tuesday as it pointed to "challenging" conditions and a "highly competitive" market.

In the 26 weeks to 26 May 2019, pre-tax profit tumbled to £0.2m from £2.3m in the same period a year ago, with total revenue up just 0.1% at £611.1m and like-for-like sales 1% higher.

Basic earnings per share declined to 1.2p from 1.3p and the interim dividend was cut to 1.3p from 3.4p a share last year.

Chief executive Jonathan Miller said: "I am encouraged by the performance we have delivered as we regain greater operational stability, but we still have more work to do in the second half of the year. The market remains highly competitive, with challenging trading conditions, given the unseasonable weather and uncertain economic climate.

"Despite this, we expect to be broadly in line with expectations for the full year and we are confident that our strategy, combined with the cash generative and profitable nature of our business, will deliver sustainable returns for shareholders in the long term."

McColl's issued a profit warning back in December, highlighting the impact of the collapse of wholesaler Palmer and Harvey and difficult trading conditions.

At 1120 BST, the shares were down 1.4% at 69.02p.