Trading Statement

Mothercare PLC
18 January 2007


18 January 2007

                                 MOTHERCARE PLC
                          THIRD QUARTER TRADING UPDATE

Mothercare plc today issued the following update on trading in respect of the 13
weeks to 12 January 2007 (third quarter). All figures in this statement are
comparable with the same weeks last year.

Group performance

Worldwide sales for the 13 weeks to 12 January 2007 were up 5.1%, and for the 41
weeks to 12 January were up 5.3%, driven by the improvements we have made in
product, sourcing, distribution and stores which benefit our entire
multi-channel business in the UK and overseas.

UK performance

+---------------------------------+------------+--------------+
|                                 | 13 Weeks to|   41 Weeks to|
|                                 |            |              |
|                                 |  12 January|    12 January|
+---------------------------------+------------+--------------+
|Total UK sales*                  |       +0.4%|         +1.3%|
+---------------------------------+------------+--------------+
|Total UK like-for-like sales*    |       +0.8%|         +1.9%|
+---------------------------------+------------+--------------+
|UK store sales                   |       -0.7%|         +0.6%|
+---------------------------------+------------+--------------+
|UK store like-for-like sales     |       -0.3%|         +1.1%|
+---------------------------------+------------+--------------+

* Total UK sales and Total UK like-for-like sales include Direct in Home (home
shopping).

The multi-channel UK business has delivered a resilient sales performance with
the Direct business performing very well, including Direct in Home sales up 22%.
Trading conditions were particularly difficult in November but improved in
December. As a result markdown levels were higher than planned in quarter three,
but have now returned to normal levels. The new National Distribution Centre
performed well over Christmas and we will look to optimise our return on this
investment next year.

International performance

+---------------------------------+------------+--------------+
|                                 | 13 Weeks to|   41 Weeks to|
|                                 |            |              |
|                                 |  12 January|    12 January|
+---------------------------------+------------+--------------+
|Total International sales        |      +38.0%|        +31.0%|
+---------------------------------+------------+--------------+

The strong momentum in our International business continues. We have opened 53
stores in the current year taking the total to 319. We are on track to open
approximately 70 overseas stores in this financial year.

Ben Gordon, Chief Executive said;

'Mothercare delivered a resilient third quarter sales performance in what
remained a volatile UK consumer environment. Direct in Home sales were up 22%
supported by the successful launch in November of our new state of the art
online platform, built by Amazon Services. This performance demonstrates the
importance of our multi channel strategy in the UK.

The International business continues to grow rapidly with sales up 38%, driven
by strong like-for- like sales and 53 new store openings in the year to date,
taking the total to 319 including the recent opening of our 18th store in Russia
and our 10th store in India.'

Mothercare expects to make a pre-close statement on 4 April 2007 ahead of its
preliminary results announcement for the 52 weeks to 31 March 2007.

Enquiries to:
Mothercare plc
Ben Gordon, Chief Executive                      01923 206001
Neil Harrington, Finance Director                01923 206187

Brunswick Group
Catherine Hicks/Anna Jones                       020 7404 5959


Note 1

Under IAS 39 (Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement) we are
required to mark commercial currency hedges to market and as a result we
reported an IAS 39 currency loss of £0.9m in the first half. As a result of the
recent strengthening of Sterling against the US dollar, which benefits our
buying operations, we estimate that the IAS 39 currency adjustment has now
increased to approximately £2.5 million. This is a highly volatile non-cash
adjustment which varies daily and does not reflect the underlying profitability
or cash flows of the business and at the year end we will again present an
Underlying Profit Before Taxation measure which excludes the IAS 39 adjustment
and other exceptional items.




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