Mothercare Regulatory News (MTC)

19 Jul 2007 07:00

Mothercare PLC19 July 2007 19th July 2007 Mothercare plc Annual General Meeting Interim Management Statement At the Mothercare Annual General Meeting to be held at 10:30 this morning IanPeacock, Chairman, will give the following update. Group Group sales for the 15 weeks ended 13th July 2007 were up 4.1%, as our globalbusiness benefits from improvements in product, sourcing, stores anddistribution. Our UK business is showing steady growth and our International andDirect businesses have both performed strongly. All figures in this statementare comparable with the same 15 weeks in the prior year. UK The multi channel UK business has delivered a resilient sales performance withlike-for-like sales up 1.6%. Our UK direct business continued to perform wellwith Direct in Home sales up by 17.2%. 15 Weeks to 13 July 2007Total UK sales* +0.9%Total UK like-for-like sales* +1.6%UK store sales +0.1%UK store like-for-like sales +0.6% * Total UK sales and total UK like-for-like sales include Direct in Home. International International sales are growing rapidly, increasing by 20.9% in the quarter. Wehave opened 12 stores during the period taking the total to 340 overseas storesin 39 countries and remain on track to open at least 50 overseas stores in thisfinancial year. On 12th July we announced our retail entry into China, through a joint venturewith Goodbaby, China's largest manufacturer of childcare products. Three trialstores in Beijing and Shanghai are planned for spring 2008. Early Learning Centre On 19th June 2007 we completed our acquisition of the Early Learning Centre andour integration of the two businesses is proceeding in line with plan. Theresults of the Early Learning Centre will be included for the first time in ourinterim results for the 28 weeks to 13 October 2007. Ian Peacock, Chairman said; "Our multi channel UK business has performed well, with like-for-like sales up1.6% in what has been a difficult and volatile market, reflecting ongoingimprovements in product, sourcing, stores and distribution. The International business continues to grow rapidly with sales up 20.9% and weare delighted to have announced our plans to open our first Mothercare stores inChina. Although it is early days, we are pleased with the progress that has been madeto date on the integration of the Mothercare and Early Learning Centrebusinesses, and we are delighted to have brought together two of the strongestparenting brands in the UK." Mothercare expects to make a pre-close statement for the 28 weeks to 13thOctober 2007 on 18th October 2007 ahead of the interim results announcement on22nd November 2007. Enquiries to: Mothercare plcBen Gordon, Chief Executive 01923 206001Neil Harrington, Finance Director 01923 206187 Brunswick Group LLPCatherine Hicks/Anna Jones 020 7404 5959 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange