LONDON (Alliance News) - Footasylum PLC shares dived early Tuesday as the UK footwear retailer warned of modest earnings growth in the new 2019 financial year due to weak consumer sentiment and an expected rise in capital expenditure and property costs.
Shares in Footasylum were down 47% at 86.50 pence in morning trade, the top faller on London's junior AIM market.
The company was founded by JD Sports PLC co-founders David Makin and John Wardle and raised GBP65.4 million in its initial public offering in November last year.
"While our core target market of the 16 to 24-year-old consumer has proved to be comparatively resilient in a downturn, our trading since the beginning of the new financial year has undoubtedly been impacted by the widely documented weak consumer sentiment on the high street," Chief Executive Clare Nesbitt said.
The company now expects modest year-on-year rise in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation for the year to February 2019.
Adjusted Ebitda - the company's preferred profit measure - grew to GBP12.5 million in the year ended February 24, from GBP11.2 million in the year ago period.
Pretax profit for 2018 financial year fell sharply to GBP1.9 million from GBP8.1 million, on a revenue of GBP194.8 million and GBP147.0 million, respectively. The sharp drop in profit was attributed to GBP6.0 million stock listing costs.
The retailer opened 10 new stores in 2018 financial year, taking the total store estate to 65 stores. The company is currently targeting up to eight new store openings per annum.