UK's House of Fraser posts increase in turnover, profit for H1

By

Cajsa Lykke Carlson

Published
Sep 22, 2015

House of Fraser, the British department store, has posted a total increase in turnover to £574.2m on like-for-like sales growth of 6.5% in the 26 weeks to August 1.

Gross profit rose £11.3m year-on-year in the period, up to £204.7m. Online sales did well, increasing by 30.8%, and now represents 17.5% of sales, up from 14.2% in 2014/15. Like-for-like sales in bricks-and-mortar stores rose by 2%.

House of Fraser's adjusted EBITDA for the first half increased by 7% to £9.2m. The company saw sales increase in all categories and routes to market in the period, with menswear doing especially well, up 10.5%.

HoF will anchor a new shopping development in Rushden Lakes in Northamptonshire, due to open in 2017, and opened a second international franchise store on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi in June 2015. The retailer is opening its first store in China in 2016.

Nigel Oddy, House of Fraser CEO said: "We are pleased with the continued sales and profit growth in the first half of this year. Both stores and online have delivered positive sales and margin growth, building on the performance we have seen in both these channels in recent years, demonstrating the truly multichannel nature of our business."

"We have continued to invest in our UK business to remain at the
forefront of retail innovation by developing our multichannel offering, enhancing our store portfolio, growing House Brands and introducing exciting premium brands. This focus on our key strategic pillars has also been reflected in our current trading."

"We continue to make progress on our international expansion plans and remain excited by our future growth opportunities both in the UK and abroad."