Mothercare PLC
15 July 2005
15th July 2005
Mothercare plc
Annual General Meeting Statement
At the Mothercare Annual General Meeting to be held at 10:30 this morning,
Ian Peacock, Chairman, will give the following update on trading:
Company Performance
Company sales for the 15 weeks ended 8th July 2005 were up 3.3%. Our UK business
has traded resiliently in the difficult UK trading environment. Our
International business has continued to grow strongly and has helped to offset
the tougher trading conditions in the UK.
UK performance
Total UK sales for the 15 weeks ended 8th July 2005 were up 0.1%. UK store like
for like sales were down 1.8% over this period. Taking account of growth in our
Direct business, UK like for like sales were down 1.4%. Last year in the 15
weeks to 9th July 2004, UK like for like sales were up 4.8%. We estimate that
the timing of Easter compared to last year has impacted the comparison adversely
to last year by some -0.8%. We have opened five new UK stores in this period,
taking the total to 235.
Our UK gross margin continues to show satisfactory growth, with five weeks
remaining of our summer Sale.
International
International sales have increased by 30.7%. This figure has benefited from the
earlier timing of the despatch of product to our franchisees this year as a
result of our more efficient distribution network. The underlying growth is
driven by good franchisee like for like sales, combined with our continuing
International store opening programme. We have opened 16 International stores
during this period, taking the total to 236 - overtaking the number of UK stores
for the first time.
Update on new National Distribution Centre (NDC)
Phase 1 of our move to our new NDC was successfully completed in May - on time
and on budget. 20% of our sales value and 50% of our product cubic volume are
now being distributed through this new facility. All key performance indicators
are being achieved. The next phase of our relocation plan takes place in the
autumn of 2005, with the final phases of the move due to be completed in mid
2006.
IFRS
Mothercare will today issue an update on the impact of the adoption of
International Financial Reporting Standards. The update includes a restated
profit and loss account for the year ended 26th March 2005 and a restated
balance sheet as at 26th March 2005.
Enquiries to:
Mothercare plc
Ben Gordon, Chief Executive 01923 206001
Steven Glew, Finance Director 01923 206187
Brunswick Group LLP
Susan Gilchrist/Catherine Hicks/Anna Jones 020 7404 5959
Mothercare expects to make a pre-close statement in early October ahead of its
interim results announcement for the 28 weeks to 8th October 2005.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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