Mothercare Regulatory News (MTC)

19 Oct 2006 07:00

Mothercare PLC19 October 2006 19 October 2006 MOTHERCARE PLC PRE CLOSE TRADING UPDATE Mothercare Plc today issued the following update on trading. The statement isbeing made in respect of Mothercare's half year ended 14 October 2006. Allfigures in this statement are comparable with the same weeks in the priorperiod. Group performance Group sales for the 28 weeks to 14 October 2006 (first half year) were up 5.3%and for the 13 weeks to 14 October 2006 (second quarter), were up 4.4%. UK performance UK store like for like sales for the first half were up 1.9% and for the secondquarter were up 1.4%. +-------------------------------+------------------+------------------+| | 13 Weeks to| 28 Weeks to|| | 14 October 2006| 14 October 2006|+-------------------------------+------------------+------------------+|Total UK sales % | +0.6%| +1.7%|+-------------------------------+------------------+------------------+|UK stores sales % | +0.2%| +1.2%|+-------------------------------+------------------+------------------+|UK store sales like for like % | +1.4%| +1.9%|+-------------------------------+------------------+------------------+ The UK business continues to show a positive sales performance, with the Directbusiness performing strongly, highlighting the success of our multi channelstrategy. Our focus on optimising the UK store portfolio through right-sizing andre-siting has continued. UK store like for like sales growth for the half yearis higher than UK stores sales growth as a result of this activity. UK grossmargins are in line with expectations. International performance +-----------------------------+------------------+------------------+| | 13 Weeks to| 28 Weeks to|| | 14 October 2006| 14 October 2006|+-----------------------------+------------------+------------------+|Total International sales | +27.1%| +28.0%|+-----------------------------+------------------+------------------+ We continue to grow our International business rapidly. We have opened 34 storesin the current year, including the opening today of our fourteenth store inRussia, which takes our total number of overseas franchise stores to 300. Weremain on track to open at least 50 international stores in the year. Ben Gordon, Chief Executive said: "Our multi-channel UK business has performed well in what remains a difficulttrading environment. We continue to expand our brand globally with the openingof a further 34 stores overseas, including our first eight in India. We arepleased to have reached a milestone of 300 international stores with the openingtoday of our fourteenth store in Russia." The full financial performance for the first half of the year (28 weeks to 14October 2006) will be reported when Mothercare's Interim Results are announcedon 16 November 2006. Enquiries to: Mothercare plcBen Gordon, Chief Executive 01923 206001Neil Harrington, Finance Director 01923 206187 Brunswick Group LLPSusan Gilchrist/Catherine Hicks 020 7404 5959 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange