Early years kids goods retailer Mothercare Plc said it wants to rebuild its scale in the UK and globally after a big slump in adjusted profits in its first half as retail sales dropped by a quarter.
Total retail sales by franchise partners fell 25% year-on-year to £90.7m over the six months to 27 September, falling 22% at constant currency, mainly due to store closures in the Middle East and the brand's planned exit from Boots. Online retail sales, meanwhile, fell 18% to £10.0m.
Mothercare operated from 344 stores worldwide during the period, down from 440 the year before, with total store square spare falling to 858,000 square foot from 1.1m sq ft previously.
As a result, adjusted EBITDA more than halved to £0.8m from £1.7m the year before, while the company reported an adjusted loss from operations of £0.5m, compared with a £1.1m profit previously.
On the plus side, net debt was reduced to just £5.8m by the end of the half, around a third of the £17.1m reported last year.
Chair Clive Whiley said the company's performance showed that it had "stabilised as a smaller and cash generative business with greatly reduced debt", while new partnerships in South Asia and Turkey are "now bearing fruit".
"From this position of relative strength our key focus for 2026 is to pursue options to rebuild our scale and operations both in the UK and globally, alongside pursuing the refinancing of our existing debt financing facilities," he said.