British retailer Laura Ashley said today it returned to profit and enjoyed strong sales in the first half of the year thanks to further cost cuts and strong demand.
Pretax profit came to £3 million in the six months to July 29th from a loss of £0.2 million over the same period a year ago, the high street retailer said.
Like-for-like UK sales rose 13.1 per cent in the 31 weeks to September 2nd, having jumped 14.3 per cent in the first 24 weeks to July 15th against a weak performance a year ago.
"Despite challenging retail conditions in the UK, we believe that our recovery will continue, underpinned by solid operational efficiency throughout the business," Chief Executive Lillian Tan said in a statement.
There was tough price competition in the furniture and fashion business, she told said.
The chief executive said she may open as many as 15 to 20 new stores over the next 12 months as part of the shake-up of Laura Ashley's portfolio.