Sales and losses up at Moss Bros

29th Sep 2010 08:26

Sales rose but so did losses at suit retailer Moss Bros in the first half of the year.Pre-tax losses in the half year to July rose to £3.35m from £3m, even though revenues picked up to £56.3m from £52.1m, with like-for-like sales up 11.6%. Underlying profits fell to £0.1m from £0.6m.Trading since the half year has been encouraging, Moss added. "Like for like sales in the first eight weeks of the second half of 2010 have continued to improve on 2009 and gross margin is slightly higher," it said, though chief executive Brian Brick cautioned conditions overall remain hard to gauge. "Whilst the early response to the Autumn/Winter range is positive, with like for like sales continuing to improve, we remain in a period with tough economic conditions and consumer uncertainty," he said.