The Body Shop more than doubled profits in its second half, reaching €13.6m (£11.1m) in the six months to June 30, compared to €6.3m (£5.1m) for the same period the year before.

The beauty specialist, which is owned by cosmetics giant L’Oreal, said that growth in profits had reflected the “sharp reduction” of its fixed costs over the last year.

Its profits represented 4.1% of its sales, compared to just 1.9% the previous year.

The Body Shop had already revealed a like-for-like dip in its second half of 0.1% with sales reaching €170m (£138.9m) across its 2,562 global stores.

Emerging markets such as Russia and India have continued to grow strongly for the retailer with markets in the UK, Japan and North America “more difficult” it said.