 saw shares slump over 7 percent on Wednesday, after revealing an 84 percent drop in profits.){kind=link}
Budget footwear retailer Shoe Zone (LON:SHOE) saw shares slump over 7 percent on Wednesday, after revealing an 84 percent drop in profits.
Shoe Zone made a pretax profit of £0.3 million in the six months to April 1, a significant fall on the £1.9 million made in the same period last year. Revenue fell 2.3 percent to £72.9 million.
Nick Davis, Chief Executive of Shoe Zone, blamed the fall in the value of the sterling for the weaker-than-expected results. He commented:
“I am pleased with the Group’s performance in the first half as we continued to actively manage the retail estate while driving profitable sales. The devaluation of sterling against the dollar has impacted the Group’s statutory profits in the period however as we reach the annualised rebasing of this rate, we anticipate the ongoing impact will be significantly reduced.
“The Group has traded broadly in line with management’s expectations since the period end and the Board continues to look to the future with confidence.”
Looking forward, the company warned that the retail market remains uncertain given the political environment in the UK and across Europe in the coming months.
“Trading continues to be broadly in line with expectations, with the cost base benefitting from the new rates regime, albeit this may be partially offset by the potential impact of increases in shipping costs,” Shoe Zone said.
Shoe Zone shares are currently trading down 7.15 percent on the news, at 174.10 (0920GMT).