Trading Statement

RNS Number : 7180B

Mothercare PLC

06 April 2017

 

6 April 2017

MOTHERCARE PLC

FY17 Q4 trading update

Mothercare plc, the leading global retailer for parents and young children, today issues the following trading update, which covers the 11 week period to 25^th March 2017.

UK

·      UK like-for-like sales up 4.5% during the quarter driven by online sales growth of 13.6%.  Online sales now represent c41% of UK sales

·      We ended the quarter with 152 stores (147 Mothercare and five ELC) of which c70% are now trading in the new, modern format

·      Margin remains within our guidance for the full year

International

·      Many International markets are now in growth, while the Middle East remains challenging

·      International retail sales were down 1.7% in constant currency and up 15.4% in actual currency, reflecting the ongoing currency tailwinds

·      Ten transactional websites opened during the year. Now trading online in 21 countries with full year online sales growth of 64% in constant currency and 86% in actual currency

·      We opened 144 stores and closed 116 during the year, ending the quarter with 1,338 stores and c3.1M sq.ft.of retail space

Group performance for 11 weeks to 25^th March 2017

					11 weeks:	52 weeks:
	FY2016		FY2017		25th March 2017
	Q4	Q1	Q2	Q3	% change year-on-year
UK					Q4	YTD
Total UK sales	0.8	(2.1)	(2.5)	0.6	3.2	(0.1)
Online sales	5.6	6.4	7.3	5.5	13.6	7.8
UK like-for-like sales (1)	2.1	1.2	(2.5)	1.0	4.5	1.1
UK space (change in sq.ft.)	(6.4)	(4.8)	(1.7)	(4.5)	(5.9)	(5.9)
International
International retail sales in constant currency (1)	(9.7)	3.9	(5.6)	(5.9)	(1.7)	(2.4)
International retail sales in actual currency (1)	(10.8)	5.1	9.5	13.2	15.4	10.3
International space (change in sq.ft.)	4.6	2.3	1.8	0.0	0.9	0.9
Group
Worldwide sales (2)	(6.7)	2.7	5.1	7.5	10.7	6.3
Total group sales (3)	(1.4)	(1.7)	0.5	1.8	(12.2)	(2.2)

Contd/…

Mark Newton-Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Mothercare plc, said: 

"Following a solid final quarter, our overall Group performance remains broadly in line with market expectations for the year.

"We have made further progress in the period, with the UK performing particularly well on a like-for like basis. Customers' response to our spring/summer ranges has been positive, as has the feedback on the new website and our new store environment; over the past two years we have successfully refurbished 70% of the store estate to our new, modern format. Our customer database now stands at over three million active customers, allowing us to communicate seamlessly between our digital and physical channels.

"In our International business, we have seen strong sales in China, Indonesia and Russia supported by currency tailwinds, whilst the continuing economic conditions in the Middle East remain challenging. We continue to export our learnings from the UK and as a result, have launched ten new websites this year, bringing our total to 21 countries now trading online.  We still see many opportunities in existing and new markets around the world that are open to us."

"We are firmly focused on our strategy to build our businesses both here in the UK and internationally and our vision remains clear: to be the leading global retailer for parents and young children."

Investor and Analyst enquiries to:
Mothercare plc
Mark Newton-Jones, Chief Executive Officer	01923 206455
Richard Smothers, Chief Financial Officer	01923 206455
Helen Gunter, Director of Corporate Communications	01923 206381
Media enquiries to: MHP Communications:
John Olsen/Simon Hockridge	020 3128 8100

Notes:

1 - UK like-for-like sales are defined as sales from stores that have been trading continuously from the same selling space for at least a year and include online sales. International retail sales are the estimated retail sales of overseas franchisees and joint ventures and associates to their customers. International like-for-like sales are the estimated franchisee retail sales from stores that have been trading continuously from the same selling space for at least a year.

2 - Worldwide sales are total International sales plus total UK sales. Total International sales are International retail sales plus International Wholesale sales.

3 - Total group sales is a statutory number and is made up of total UK sales and receipts from our International partners, which includes royalty payments and the cost of goods dispatched to our franchise partners.

4 - This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements concerning the company. Although the Board believes its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, the matters to which such statements refer may be influenced by factors that could cause actual outcomes and results to be materially different. The forward-looking statements speak only as at the date of this document and the company does not undertake any obligation to announce any revisions to such statements, except as required by law or by any appropriate regulatory authority.

5 - Overall space was down 1.4% year-on-year at the end of the fourth quarter with space in the UK down 5.9% year-on-year and International space was up 0.9%.

6 - We will be announcing our Full Year Results on Thursday 18^th May 2017.

 

END

 

 

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