* Plans to raise 95 mln pounds by offering new shares at
75p/share
* Company swings to pretax loss of nearly 80 mln pounds
* Shares close 4% higher on Monday
(Adds share sale price, updates stock to closing price)
June 1 (Reuters) - Ted Baker plans to raise about 95
million pounds ($118 million) by selling new shares at a steep
discount to help it ride out the coronavirus crisis, the fashion
brand said on Monday, as it slumped to an annual loss.
In an update after market-close, the company said it planned
to offer 126.7 million shares at 75 pence each, a 51.1% discount
to its closing price on May 29, having announced the proposed
placement earlier in the day.
Shares in the company, known for suits, shirts and dresses
with quirky details, closed about 4% higher at 130 pence on
Monday after initially falling 24%. The stock has lost nearly
70% so far this year.
It is the latest British company to seek cash from
shareholders as the coronavirus pandemic plunges the economy
into recession, following the likes of office provider IWG
, events guide specialist Time Out and caterer
Compass.
Even before the crisis, Ted Baker was struggling to recover
from setbacks including an accounting scandal, profit warnings
and management change after founder Ray Kelvin stepped down amid
misconduct allegations, which he denies.
New Chief Executive Rachel Osborne, a former manager at
department stores group Debenhams, laid out a transformation
plan on Monday including cost savings and a shift towards online
sales. Analysts say Ted Baker has struggled to hold on to
customers amid online competition from the likes of Boohoo.com.
The company plans to gradually reopen stores - closed since
a lockdown to contain the virus pandemic in late March - from
the middle of this month, in line with government guidance.
For the year ended Jan. 25, Ted Baker made a pretax loss of
79.9 million pounds, compared with a profit of 30.7 million in
the prior year. Total revenue fell 1.4% to 630.5 million pounds.
Revenues also slumped 36% for the 14 weeks from Jan. 26 to
May 2.
"The Board recognises that last year's performance was
disappointing for all of Ted Baker's stakeholders, reflecting a
challenging external environment as well as significant internal
disruption, driven by a number of senior leadership departures,"
the company said.
($1 = 0.8022 pounds)
(Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by
Pushkala Aripaka; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Mark Potter)
