Pre-tax losses at Littlewoods Shop Direct reached £24.2 million in the year to April 30, 2007, as the group continued to feel the strain of its business restructure on its balance sheet.

For the same period the year before, the company had made a profit of£12.4 million. Group turnover for the last financial year was£1.76 billion.

The company said that it has now completed a£330 million integration programme and expects to recoup the costs within four years.

Last week, Littlewoods chief executive Mark Newton-Jones outlined ambitious plans to double its online sales to£1 billion by 2011. Online sales account for about 50 per cent of Littlewoods' sales and are expected to hit£500 million in the year to April 31.

For the six weeks to January 4, Littlewoods' sales rose 7 per cent, driven by strong online sales. Internet sales rocketed 44 per cent compared with the same period last year, with clothing and footwear leading the performance.

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