Mothercare saw a boost in its full-year dividend, despite a fall in pre tax profits.
Pre-tax profit fell 23 per cent to £32.5m ($46.7m), but on a constant-currency basis pre-tax profit was broadly flat at £37.2m. Excluding a long-term incentive scheme, profit rose from £44.6m to £52m from revenue ahead from £723.6m to £766.4m.
Ben Gordon, chief executive, said: “We’re a fast-growing company that is cash generative and we wanted to make sure we have a progressive dividend policy as a sign of this.”
UK like-for-like sales rose 3 per cent in the full year, but fell 1.6 per cent in the fourth quarter because of bad weather – the first fall in 18 quarters.
Mr Gordon outlined the second phase of his plan to move Mothercare to larger out of town sites. He said that during this process the retailer would aim to cut rents by up to 40 per cent.
Diluted earnings per share fell from 35p to 27.3p and the total dividend rises to 16.8p (14.5p) via an 11.3p final.
Source: Financial Times
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