Profit before tax for the 11 months to January 29 was£287,000, but pro forma losses for the 12 months to January 29 came to£5.9 million, against a profit of£4.7 million the previous year. However, sales were up from£163.6 million to£168.17 million.
Retail Knowledge Bank senior partner Robert Clarke said: 'The key profitability figure in trading terms is operating profit, down 20 per cent from£14.7 million to£11.8 million, which is not too bad given the state of the market. The turnaround into loss at the pre-tax level is explained by the greatly increased interest payments on much higher bank debt following the takeover. The company itself has effectively been saddled with paying back the interest on the loans that Baugur took out to take over the operation.'
The retailer was bought by Baugur in May last year and is headed by chief executive Jurek Piasecki, who shortly after the acquisition declared that he was looking for a chief operating officer. The role was filled by Steven Harvey at the end of last year.
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