N Brown warns on profits after Indian Summer
SHARES in N Brown slumped 13 per cent yesterday after the company was forced to cut its full-year profit forecast just three weeks after saying it was on track to meet expectations.
Chief executive Angela Spindler said the company, which targets older and plus-sized shoppers with brands such as Jacamo and Simply Be, had been caught out by one of the warmest Septembers on record.
“It has been a really challenging month. The average item value and the average order value is down as a consequence of very poor sales in traditional autumn and winter stock such as coats, knitwear, boots and thermals It has hit us quite hard.”
The company said it now expected to deliver pre-tax profits in the range of £88m to £92m for the year to the end of March 2015. Analysts had been expecting profits of £103m.
Like-for-like sales in the first half of the year to 30 August were down 0.5 per cent, while pre-tax profits fell 3.2 per cent to £42.7m, the group said.