Ted Baker hurt by nervous outlook

Ted Baker (TED) shares took a tumble as news of softer retail sales, exposure to the recent House of Fraser collapse and warnings of tough conditions on the British high street put the market on edge. Analysts at Liberum believe the business remains “resilient and agile” and “well-placed in tough markets”, but did admit the gross margin improvement seen last year was likely to reverse in the second half, despite easier comparative figures. For now, analysts at the broker still expect pre-tax profits of £76.9m for the year ending January 2019, giving EPS of 135p, compared to £73.5m and 129p a share in FY2018.