House of Fraser earnings drop as it invests in new warehouse
HOUSE of Fraser saw adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation drop 16 per cent to £58.6m in the year to 28 January as it invested in a second distribution centre.
The department store, which runs 63 sites across the UK and Ireland, said it built a new warehouse in Northamptonshire, last summer, to help support its online business, after relaunching and redesigning its website.
Don McCarthy, chairman of House of Fraser said: “Considering the market conditions, uncertainty in the economy and the unseasonably warm autumn we believe our results are in line with fashion retailers in our sector. 2011 was another year of investment for us, as we continued to focus on the fastest growing areas of our business.”
Despite the fall in earnings, gross profits were up £3.8m to £399.1m and like-for-like sales over the year nudged up three per cent. Own brand sales also jumped 17 per cent helped by the launch of Mary by Mary Portas in womenswear and Howick Tailored in menswear.
In the first 13 weeks of the year, like-for-like sales rose by 2.6 per cent.