LONDON (Alliance News) - Footasylum PLC on Tuesday said it swung to loss in the first half of its current financial year as it continues to invest in new store openings and online channels.
The footwear retailer said it swung to a pretax loss of GBP2.5 million in the 26 weeks ended August 25 compared to GBP1.7 million profit reported for the same period a year ago, due to the higher administrative costs, which grew to GBP44.7 million from GBP37.3 million.
"Profitability impacted by lower gross margin and by the extensive investments being made to position the company for future growth," Footasylum explained in its statement Tuesday.
Meanwhile, revenue rose 19% to GBP98.6 million from GBP83.2 million, reflecting increasing volumes of online traffic.
Footasylum opened one new store during the period compared to three opened in the first half of financial 2018 and said it is planning to deliver four upsizes ahead of the peak Christmas trading period.
Store revenue grew by 12% in the first half to GBP66.3 million, while online revenue rose by 29% to GBP30.2 million. Wholesale revenue multiplied to GBP2.1 million from GBP700,000 a year ago.
"This has been a difficult trading period for Footasylum as we have contended with tough conditions on the high street and some delays in our programme of new store openings and upsizes ahead of the peak trading period," explained Executive Chairman Barry Bown.
"In the longer-term, we remain confident that the company's differentiated, product-led, multi-channel proposition, combined with strong partnerships with core suppliers, will underpin our future progress," added Brown.
Footasylum shares were trading 3.0% lower on Tuesday at 31.52 pence each.