Mothercare PLC Trading update (6413K)
12 April 2018 - 4:00PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMMTC
RNS Number : 6413K
Mothercare PLC
12 April 2018
Thursday 12 April 2018
MOTHERCARE PLC
FY18 Q4 trading update
Mothercare plc, the leading global retailer for parents and
young children, today issues the following trading update, which
covers the 12-week period to 24(th) March 2018.
* Overall adjusted Group profit and net debt for FY18
is in line with previous guidance(1)
* UK like-for-like decline continues to be impacted by
continued consumer trend of reduced store footfall
* Online returns to growth in UK; now representing 49%
of UK sales
* International sales performance encouraging, with
growth in key Middle East market
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Group performance for 12 weeks to 24(th) March 2018
% change FY17 FY18 24 March 2018
Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 % change year-on-year
----------------------------- ------- ------ ------ ------- ------------------------
UK 12 Weeks: FY:
UK like-for-like
sales (2) 4.5 1.9 3.2 (7.2) (2.8) (1.3)
Website Sales 18.6 6.0 8.7 (7.5) 7.2 2.8
Store iPad Sales 7.5 (0.1) 5.5 (5.7) (4.8) (1.1)
Online Sales (2) 13.6 3.3 7.3 (6.9) 2.1 1.2
Total UK sales 3.2 (1.8) (0.2) (11.0) (5.6) (4.8)
UK space (change
in sq.ft.) (5.9) (7.2) (9.2) (6.0) (10.7) (10.7)
International
International retail
sales in constant
currencies (2) (1.7) (8.3) (7.1) (3.0) (3.7) (5.8)
International retail
sales in actual currencies
(2) 15.4 2.2 (6.0) (6.8) (11.0) (5.0)
International space
(change in sq.ft.) 0.9 (2.3) (3.0) (3.6) (2.6) (2.6)
Group
Worldwide sales (3) 10.7 0.8 (3.8) (8.2) (9.2) (4.8)
Total group sales
(4) (12.2) (0.0) (4.9) (2.4) (0.3) (1.9)
----------------------------- ------- ------ ------ ------- ------------- ---------
UK
-- UK like-for-like sales decline of 2.8% impacted by reduced store consumer footfall.
-- Online sales growth of 2.1%, with website sales growth of 7.2%.
-- Online sales within the period represented 49% of UK sales, bringing FY to 43%.
-- Continued progress with store rationalisation programme,
leading to total UK sales 5.6% lower than last year.
-- Retail space at the end of the quarter reduced as planned by
10.7% to 1.3m sq.ft. in 137 stores (134 Mothercare and 3 ELC).
International
-- International retail sales were 3.7% lower in constant currency (-11.0% in actual).
-- Middle East growth continued throughout the period.
-- Russia impacted by lower market footfall and the phasing of promotional activity.
-- Online sales growth of 3.4% in constant currency (-2.6% in actual).
-- Retail space at the end of the quarter was 2.6% lower at 2.9m sq.ft. in 1,131 stores.
David Wood, Chief Executive Officer of Mothercare plc, said:
"Our overall Group performance for FY18 was in line with
previous guidance for both adjusted Group profit and net debt.
The UK retail trading environment remained relatively muted in
the quarter, with a continuing trend of lower footfall in stores,
though there was an encouraging return to growth online, with
website sales in particular growing at 7.2%. In this competitive
climate, promotional activity has been necessary to stimulate
customer demand.
International retail sales were down overall 3.7%, impacted by
lower market footfall and the timing of promotional activity in
Russia. The return to growth in the Middle East that we observed in
Q3 has continued throughout this period, which is encouraging.
My immediate priority is to ensure Mothercare is put back on a
sound financial footing and to improve its financial performance.
We continue to make good progress in reducing the size of our UK
store estate in response to changing consumer preferences and in
reducing our central cost base, but our central focus must be
customers and their experience, securing Mothercare's reputation as
the number one specialist for parents.
We remain in constructive dialogue with our financing partners
with respect to our financing needs for FY19 and beyond, and we
continue to explore additional sources of financing to support and
maintain the momentum of our transformation programme. All of these
discussions are on-going and further updates will be given as
appropriate."
Investor and Analyst enquiries to:
Mothercare plc
David Wood, Chief Executive Officer 01923 206037
Glyn Hughes, Chief Financial Officer 01923 206037
Media enquiries to:
MHP Communications:
Simon Hockridge / Tim Rowntree 020 3128 8789
Notes:
1 - 8(th) January 2018 guidance: adjusted Group profit for the
year: range of GBP1-5m. Net debt: c. GBP50m.
2 - UK like-for-like sales are defined as sales from stores that
have been trading continuously from the same selling space for at
least a year and include online sales. UK online sales include both
website sales and sales taken on iPads in store. International
retail sales, including online sales, are the estimated retail
sales of overseas franchisees and joint ventures and associates to
their customers. International like-for-like sales are the
estimated franchisee retail sales from stores that have been
trading continuously from the same selling space for at least a
year. International sales in constant currency exclude the impact
of movements in foreign exchange on translation.
3 - Worldwide sales are total International sales plus total UK
sales. Total International sales are International retail sales
plus International Wholesale sales.
4 - Total Group sales is a statutory number and is made up of
total UK sales and receipts from our International partners, which
includes royalty payments and the cost of goods dispatched to our
franchise partners.
5 - This announcement contains certain forward-looking
statements concerning the Company. Although the Board believes its
expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, the matters to
which such statements refer may be influenced by factors that could
cause actual outcomes and results to be materially different. The
forward-looking statements speak only as at the date of this
document and the Company does not undertake any obligation to
announce any revisions to such statements, except as required by
law or by any appropriate regulatory authority.
6 - We are scheduled to announce our Preliminary Results on
17(th) May 2018.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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