21 November 2016 – interim results
Interim results for the 26 week period ended 24 September 2016 have been released. Total revenue was £93.1m versus £97.0m in the same period a year earlier. Store-only like-for-like sales were down 8.6% and online sales were down 1.1% but increased by 2.3% in Q2. There was a fractional increase in product gross margin, despite higher discounting. Profit before tax was £2.0m, £2.5m on a pre-exceptional basis versus £5.4m, £6.4m on a pre-exceptional basis, in the first half of last year. Basic earnings per share were 3.1p, 4.2p on a pre-exceptional basis, down from 8.4p, 10.5p on a pre-exceptional basis, last year. Net cash was £9.8m at the half year end, down from £18.6m a year earlier. The interim dividend was held at 2.5p per share and the yield remains a key positive if dividend payments can be maintained at the anticipated level. The shares remain a SPECULATIVE BUY.