“We enter the new financial year in a more robust position as a restructured business fit for the future” says ceo Mark Newton-Jones.
Mothercare’s ceo Mark Newton-Jones has said that the retailer enters the new financial year in a more robust position, and is now a restructured business “fit for the future and with reduced levels of debt”.
The retailer released its FY19 Q4 trading update this morning (April 4) which showed that UK like for like sales declined 8.8% during the period – however, this represents an improvement on the prior two quarters which had both seen sales drop by just over 11%.
The UK store closure programme was also successfully completed ahead of schedule, with Mothercare closing 40 stores in the past three months. The UK estate stood at 80 stores as of April 3.
Reduction in debt was also aided by the sale of Early Learning Centre to The Entertainer, which was announced last month.
International retail sales for the period were down 4.9% in constant currency (-4.5% in actual currency), while retail sales in core markets dropped 5.7% in constant currency, driven primarily by economic and trading challenges in the Middle East.
However, growth was seen in the core markets of Russia, India and Indonesia.
“We have continued to make significant progress in our final quarter as we continue our strategic transformation to deliver a sustainable and profitable future for Mothercare,” said Mark Newton-Jones in a statement. “Looking ahead, we expect market conditions in the UK and in some international markets to remain challenging.
“We enter the new financial year in a more robust position as a restructured business fit for the future and with reduced levels of debt. We have a significantly smaller UK store estate and our international operations remain cash generative.
“We look forward to the new financial year and to delivering the next phase of our strategic transformation plan.”
