Mothercare (MTC) shares are down close to 50 per cent over the past 12 months, and the latest set of interim figures did little to help. Changes to the group's British warehouse systems and unseasonal weather patterns meant sales and margins in UK stalled. Despite more aggressive discounting, like-for-like sales dipped into negative territory, while gross margins fell 59 basis points. This led to an overall underlying loss in the UK of £8.8m - a 44 per cent decline year-on-year. Internationally, retail sales rose 7.1 per cent at actual currencies, although volatile markets across Europe, Russia, the Middle East and Asia meant like-for-like sales fell 2.9 per cent.
Chief executive Mark Newton-Jones urged investors to remember the group is only in the second year of its turnaround, and significant changes to the business are expected to disrupt trading in the short term. On a more positive note, the group's website has been successfully re-platformed, and around 40 per cent of total UK sales are now derived online. The Mothercare app has also been downloaded 1 million times.