Mothercare remained on its sickbed today as the struggling baby retailer’s losses continued to pile up.
The company saw pre-tax losses hit £26.3 million for the year to the end of March with UK sales down 7.5% to £462 million. A resilient international business managed to help with sales up 6.4% to £729 million.
However, the results were slightly better than the market expected, leading to shares soaring 18% to 163.5p, but they are still a long way off the 420p highs before a shock profit warning in January.
Chairman Alan Parker said a recovery in the last few months has helped avoid another profit warning or rumoured rights issue, but said more work needed to be done.
He added that the hunt for a new chief executive continues after former boss Simon Calver left earlier this year.
Around 35 stores were closed last year, with further stores likely to shut and jobs lost.
