Bonmarche November trading hit by mild weather but FY expectations unchanged

Women’s value retailer Bonmarché said its expectations for the full year remain unchanged despite challenging trading conditions in November due to very mild, wet weather.

For the 26 weeks to 26 September, the company posted pre-tax profit of £5.4m, down from £6.4m the previous year, hit by costs relating to the listing of its shares on the main market of the London Stock Exchange from AIM.

Revenue rose 6.5% to £97m, like-for-like sales grew 2% and Bonmarché declared an interim dividend of 2.5p per share, up from 2.3p the previous year.

Chief executive Beth Butterwick said: “Bonmarché's performance for the first half of the year has been satisfactory and we have made further progress against our strategic objectives. I am pleased with the improvement in store like-for-like sales, which is a testament to the value of our loyal customer base, in a market which remains challenging.

“I am also pleased with the progress being made by the new marketing and multi-channel teams to turn around online sales.”

At 0917 GMT, shares were down 4.8% to 280p.