(Alliance News) - Ted Baker PLC on Monday announced a widened interim loss on a fall in revenue due to Covid-19, with the outlook remaining uncertain amid a tough backdrop for the retail sector.
The London-based luxury clothing retailer posted a loss before tax for the 28 weeks to August 8 of GBP86.4 million, widening from GBP23.0 million a year prior.
Revenue was down 46% to GBP169.5 million from GBP313.3 million a year before, driven by the ongoing impact of Covid-19 restrictions on trading globally, Ted Baker said.
Chief Executive Rachel Osborne said: "We are behind where we want to be on revenue. A slow recovery in consumer demand due to Covid-19, the latest round of government lock-down measures and the well-publicised heavy discounting online across global markets by many of our peers has led to many of our shops closing for a second time, severely impacted footfall into city centres and a heightened level of promotional activity. This has also impacted our margins and we have taken additional inventory provisions at the half to reflect the impact of Covid-19.
"We have worked hard to offset these shortfalls through cost savings and here we are ahead of our plans."
Ted Baker declared no interim dividend, compared to last year's 7.8 pence per share.
Going forward, Ted Baker noted that the outlook in the retail sector remains uncertain with increasing pressures on the its customers. The company also noted that natural events and governmental policy changes may evolve from climate change, affecting its supply chain.
Ted Baker shares were down 4.1% at 128.50 pence each in London on Monday morning.
By Greg Roxburgh; gregroxburgh@alliancenews.com
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