Fashion retailer New Look has reported an increase in sales in the third quarter when it defied “difficult” conditions.

Sales in the 13 weeks to December 28 rose 5% to £452.1m while adjusted EBITDA was flat at £83.3m.

New Look said it had a strong third quarter and Christmas despite “an unseasonably warm start to the quarter followed by a highly promotional high street”.

New Look reported group like-for-likes rose 1.1% in the 39 weeks to December 28 and ecommerce sales rocketed 50.3% in the third quarter.

Total year-to-date sales rose 5.6% to £1.2bn while adjusted EBITDA rose 9.9% to £187m.

New Look reported online sales rose 65.6% in the 39-week period including a 43.3% sales rise on its own website. Its click-and-collect option was selected by one in four shoppers.

During the post-Christmas Sale, autumn/winter stock cleared well in-store and online the retailer reported.

New Look chief executive Anders Kristiansen said: “We are pleased with our performance in a difficult quarter. Growth was once more driven by a particularly strong ecommerce performance – both from our own site and from third parties - and our New Look International business turned in a commendable performance, up 7.2% in the period.

“We are excited about the imminent opening of our first stores in Beijing and Shanghai and the continued growth of our multichannel business.”