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LONDON (Alliance News) - TheWorks.co.uk PLC on Wednesday said its interim loss widened on the prior year, though the retailer reported a record performance, post the period end, over Christmas.
For the six months to October 28, the toy, book and arts & crafts retailer posted pretax loss of GBP7.9 million, versus GBP4.5 million a year ago. The company expected to report a loss "due to the seasonal nature of the business" with the second half including the key trading periods of Black Friday and Christmas.
Revenue meanwhile increased 15% to GBP91.5 million from GBP79.5 million a year ago. Like-for-like sales were up 3.8%. In the comparative period a year ago, like-for-like sales were up 8.2%.
The first 11 weeks of the second half, ended January 13, saw like-for-like sales up 4.5% as the company "continued its sales momentum into the Christmas trading period, delivering a record sales performance despite tough comparatives".
Chief Executive Officer Kevin Keaney said: "We have continued to delight our customers with our wide and constantly refreshed range of great value products through our flexible and convenient multi-channel offering."
He added: "We continued that momentum into the second half with like-for-like sales growth of 4.5%. This is a record performance for us, with customers recognising our great value and exciting product range that made us a go-to choice for Christmas."
TheWorks declared an interim dividend of 1.2 pence per share.
Looking ahead, the firm said it remains confident in its future prospects despite the challenges of the UK retail environment and economic outlook.
TheWorks shares were down 0.6% at 135.26 pence each on Wednesday.
