Olympics hamper Moss Bros sales progress

Formal menswear specialist Moss Brothers said pre-tax profit rose a touch after solid trading across both hire and retail in the first six months of the year. The retailer lifted like-for-like (LFL) sales by 5.7 per cent, a slower rate than the first half, in what it described as a "positive performance" in line with company expectations.Pre-tax profit rose to £2.21m in the 26-week period to end of July from £2.15m while total revenue increased to £52.7m from £51.8m before.The suit hire firm, which has managed to turn around annual losses recorded in 2011, noted the Olympics' negative impact on LFL sales during the period. It said many wedding plans were moved forward from the first half to the second half because of the Games. "With the continued positive trading performance to date, the Board, although mindful of the fragile external trading environment, anticipates that the outturn for the full year will be in line with management's expectations," it said in a company statement.Diluted earnings per share for period fell sharply to 1.54p from 7.96p in the same period a year earlier. Gross margin recovered against last year as raw material prices eased and through direct sourcing.Moss Bross Chief Executive Brian Brick said: "Despite challenging economic conditions, the group's trading performance continues positively, in line with the board's expectations and the business is well placed to make further progress."CJ