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(Alliance News) - Footwear retailer Shoe Zone PLC on Thursday guided for a slight rise in annual revenue, while profit will meet expectations.
In late August, Shoe Zone said trading conditions in the second half of its year ended October 5 had been tough. However, it said Big Box and Digital operations have both continued "to progress strongly".
As a result, for the 53 weeks to October 5, Shoe Zone sees revenue rising 0.8% year-on-year to GBP161.9 million, with pretax profit meeting revised market expectations.
Cash conversion is strong, Shoe Zone continued, with net cash as of October 5 at GBP11.3 million.
Chief Executive Anthony Smith said: "Shoe Zone has ended this difficult year in line with our revised expectations. It is early days in the new financial year but we have been encouraged by the performance so far. There are a further twenty Big Box openings planned for the coming year which, alongside our strong Digital momentum, will continue to drive growth in the future."
The firm will report annual results on January 8. Shares were up 9.7% on Thursday at 130.00 pence each.
By George Collard; georgecollard@alliancenews.com
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