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Shoe Zone PLC shares dropped on Tuesday, after it lowered its full-year outlook amid rising costs. Shares in Shoe Zone were down 7.4% to 171.36 pence each in London on Tuesday morning. In the six months ended March 30, the Leicester, England-based footwear seller reported that revenue edged 1.5% higher to £76.5 million from £75.4 million a year earlier. Store revenue fell 2.8% to £59.4 million, however digital revenue jumped 20% to £17.1 million. Pretax profit surged to £2.6 million from £1.5 million. Shoe Zone left its interim dividend unchanged at 2.5 pence. Looking ahead, Shoe Zone said it has lowered its pretax profit forecast to £13.8 million from £15.2 million. In financial 2023, the company reported pretax profit of £16.2 million. It explained that at the point at which the original forecast was prepared the consensus was that the National Living Wage would increase to £11.08, but when announced, the increase was to £11.44 which adds £400,000 of costs in the second half. Additionally, the continuing disruption in the Middle East has increased shipping times and container prices which adds a minimum of £500,000 of cost and due to the ‘large number’ of stores the company has closed, particularly in Scotland, it has provided for an additional £500,000 of dilapidations. Shoe Zone noted that in the first half of the year it has closed 29 stores. Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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