Trading Statement

16 Jan 2007 07:01

Ashley (Laura) Hldgs PLC16 January 2007 15 January 2007 LAURA ASHLEY HOLDINGS plc ("the Company") The Company reports that for the 50 weeks to 13 January 2007, total UK retailsales were up 12.5% and like-for-like sales were up by 8.7%. In addition, theCompany has benefited from strong margin growth. In our last trading update on 21 September 2006, we reported UK retaillike-for-like sales for the 31 weeks to 2 September 2006 up by 13.1% againstrelatively weak prior year comparatives. The sales performance of the businessimproved in the second half of last year, which has resulted in slightly reducedlike-for-like sales reported in this announcement. However, total sales for the50 weeks to 13 January 2007 are up across all four product categories: HomeAccessories, Decorating, Furniture and Fashion. The store realignment programme gained momentum in the second half of thisfinancial year. To date we have opened 17 new stores across the UK. Theperformance of the new stores has been encouraging. We have also closed 10 underperforming stores. The Board expects the Group normalised trading profit for the full year ending27 January 2007 to be approximately 10% ahead of the consensus of brokers'forecasts. Laura AshleyDavid Cook 020 7880 5100Finance Director/ Company Secretary This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange