LONDON (Alliance News) - Joules Group PLC on Wednesday reported a rise in both its interim revenue and profit, while also posting growth in the subsequent Christmas trading period.
For the six months to November 25, which included Black Friday sales, the British fashion retailer posted pretax profit up 12% to GBP9.3 million from GBP8.3 million a year ago.
Revenue increased 18% to GBP113.1 million from GBP96.2 million, with administrative expenses also higher at GBP51.1 million from GBP44.0 million.
The company's international revenue, with Germany as the key focus, rose 64% and now represents 15% of the total sales of the firm. Joules operates also in France and the US.
In the seven weeks to January 6, part of Joules' second half, sales momentum continued with retail sales up 12% during the festive trading.
"Joules has delivered another strong performance in the first half of year. As previously reported, this outcome is ahead of our initial expectations for the Period and has been achieved despite challenging trading conditions," Chief Executive Officer Colin Porter said.
He added: "We have continued to trade well since the period end with a good performance through the festive period and positive customer reactions to our new collections. We have an outstanding brand, good momentum and a growing customer base and we look forward to the second half of the financial year with confidence."
The retailer upped its interim dividend to 0.75 pence from 0.70p paid out to shareholders a year ago.
Joules shares were trading down 1.9% at 254.00 pence each.
