French Connection reports further losses

For the six months leading to 31 July, French Connection cut its group operating losses to £5.7m from £7.9m at the same time a year earlier thanks to the reduced retail loss and a stronger performance from the group's wholesale division.

Total revenue for the six-month stretch came to £68.1m, or 1.6% lower than it was twelve months prior as the group closed several retail outlets as part of a retail cost-cutting exercise that saw the firm improve its margin by 30 basis points (bps) to 56.6%.

Yet gross profits fell from £38.1m on 31 July 2016 to £31.1m in 2017.

Revenue generated from French Connection's wholesale wing rose 7.2% to £29.6m as it returned to growth in the UK, Europe and North American markets.

"We have definitely seen momentum build in the first half of the new financial year with improvements across all the divisions despite difficult trading conditions," said the group's chairman and chief executive Stephen Marks while discussing the long road ahead for the company.

Cash and equivalents at the end of the half were £6.7m, versus £7.7m at the same stage of 2016.

Losses per share narrowed to 5.9p from 8.2p, and the group remained debt free.

As of 1340 BST, shares had dipped just 0.50% to 43.50p.