(Alliance News) - Kitchen and bedroom firm John Lewis of Hungerford PLC on Thursday reported a narrowed annual loss as it blamed challenges from the domestic retail sector for its woe.
For the year ended June 30, the company's pretax loss narrowed to GBP228,640 from GBP373,838 but revenue increased 24% to GBP8.3 million. The figures compared to the 10 months to the end of June 2018.
The company said financial 2018 revenue was lower due to a year-end change to June 30 from August 31. On a like-for-like basis, the prior year comparative figure was GBP8.5 million.
John Lewis of Hungerford said the results reflect "mixed fortunes within the business", with the many of the stores outperforming, though it acknowledged several showrooms were underperforming.
"The last twelve months have seen the company operating within an unprecedented retail landscape. Although the economy is not technically in recession, the current uncertainty within the economy, mainly resulting from Brexit and structural issues facing retail in the high street, has made it more difficult for retail than the recessions in 1990 and 2008," Chair Gary O'Brien said.
"We have seen significant store closures: 2,868 stores have closed in the first half of 2019, and numerous financial restructurings during this period - with some of the High Street's best-known brands being affected. We have seen this within our own sector of kitchen retail with several companies reporting challenging conditions," O'Brien added.
John Lewis of Hungerford said economic conditions are continuing to be difficult and the December UK general election has "further deteriorated the retailing environment".
Meanwhile, for its new financial year, the company said despatched sales and forward orders for the first 24 weeks of trading stood at GBP3.8 million, down 17% from 2018.
John Lewis of Hungerford said design quotation activity within the business is 10% up on the previous year. This, it said, "points to an underlying latent demand", and noted decisions are being delayed by customers as a result of the current UK political climate. It expects to see order conversions to improve once there is more clarity around Brexit.
"Whilst the impact on consumer demand continues, we are reacting, by reducing costs in the business and increasing flexibility to respond to changing demand. The board continue to monitor the situation closely and work to improve efficiency and agility in the business to ensure the company is well set to benefit from any improvement in consumer confidence," said Chief Executive Officer Kiran Noonan.
The stock was down 4.6% at 0.50 pence in London on Thursday.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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