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N Brown Group PLC on Thursday reported falling profit and revenue as plummeting consumer confidence impacted sales.
Shares in the Manchester-based clothing and footwear retailer were trading 15% lower at 20.65 pence each in London on Thursday afternoon.
In the six months to August 28, N Brown recorded pretax profit of £7.2 million, a 75% decrease from the £28.4 million in the same period last year.
The company's revenue decreased 4.6% to £331.5 million from £347.4 million last year. Its product revenue decreased to £211.2 million from £222.7 million, while its financial services revenue fell to £120.3 million from £124.7 million.
To offset the softer volumes, N Brown said it was focusing on promotional discipline and implementing measured price increases supported by data tools.
Looking forward, the company noted that uncertainty around macroeconomic conditions persists, and visibility of trading trends is limited. Its second quarter product revenue decline of 9.4% has continued into September.
The company says it expects challenging market conditions to continue for longer, with product revenue in the second half of 2023 expected to decline at a similar rate to the second quarter.
The board said it would defer the decision about the reintroduction of a divided until the 2024 financial year due to macroeconomic uncertainty.
Chief Executive Officer Steve Johnson said: ‘In a difficult period of weakening consumer confidence, we've balanced our objectives between disciplined trading - with a focus on upholding margin - and delivering on our long-term strategy to transform the business.
‘We anticipate continued softness in trading over the second half as macroeconomic pressures continue to weigh on consumers, despite government support. We will, therefore, maintain our focus on tightly managing both our costs and margins. At the same time, given our ongoing confidence in our strategy and the strength of our balance sheet, we will continue to invest in our digital transformation to deliver sustainable profitable growth.’
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