Nov 17 - "We think there's a huge (international) opportunity and it's perhaps not understood as well as it could be," Chief Executive Ben Gordon told Reuters on Wednesday.

Mothercare room divider to keep toddlers safe

With this in mind he is taking sector analysts next month to India, where the company already has 52 stores, to further explain the overseas strategy.
"When you see it in market you understand it better. The brand travels fantastically well and we don't have to change the product much from country to country. Mums have the same needs in Manchester, Mumbai or Moscow," he said.

Last month Mothercare raised its target for overseas store openings this year from 100 to 150 and Gordon is targeting another 150 in 2011-12, with India, China and Russia key growth markets.

STRONG PERFORMANCE

He was speaking after Mothercare, which already has more than 1,200 stores in 54 countries, said it made an underlying pretax profit of 12.2 million pounds in the 28 weeks to October 9, with a strong performance overseas offsetting a weak UK market.

That outcome compared with analyst forecasts of 9-12 million pounds, according to a Reuters poll, and with 10 million in the same period last year.

"There is much to admire about Mothercare's strong overseas franchise-led growth ... but the business is running ever harder to try to stand still in the UK," said analyst Nick Bubb at brokerage Arden Partners.

Mothercare's Worldwide sales rose 7.5 percent to 590.2 million pounds, with overseas retail sales overtaking British retail sales for the first time.

International profit rose 34 percent to 15.8 million pounds, reflecting 112 new overseas stores. However, UK profit slumped 69 percent to 2.8 million as sales fell 0.4 percent. Gross margin was hit by higher freight cost and adverse foreign exchange movements.

"The UK consumer environment remains uncertain and we continue to plan cautiously," said Gordon.

But he said Mothercare's wholesale clothing partnership with health and beauty retailer Boots was going well and had high hopes for a property strategy under which it is opening larger Parenting Centres and closing smaller town-centre stores.

The company said it would pay an interim dividend of 6.4 pence, up 16.4 percent.

Its shares, which have fallen 8 percent over the last six months, underperforming a 1.5 percent rise in Britain's general retail index .FTASX5370, were up 0.4 percent at 518.5 pence at 9:37 a.m., valuing the business at 468 million pounds.

(Editing by Mark Potter and David Holmes)