Mothercare profits grow as turnaround plan takes effect

London - UK baby, kids and mother retailer saw its half-year results boosted by 112 percent to 7 million pounds as the company's turnaround plan began taking effect.

Sales improved as markdowns were curtailed, and domestic store comps rose 3.8 percent even though total UK sales edged up only 0.4 percent to 23.6 million pounds.

Under CEO Mark Newton-Jones, who joined earlier this year, the company has also been closing unprofitable stores, revamping others and focusing on its online operations

E-commerce rose 22 percent, as did mobile sales

Online sales rose 22 percent. They now account for a massive 36 percent of UK retail sales and with iPads now in all its shops, in-store online ordering now represents 45 percent of all e-sales. Mobile too is key, representing 80 percent of online traffic. Interestingly it also accounts for 56 percent of online sales from customers ordering from home, proving that smartphones and tablets are beating traditional computers even when customers aren’t on the move.

Newton-Jones said: "We are a year into our turnaround; making good progress against each of our strategic pillars and as a result underlying profits for the first half have more than doubled.

“Our new store format is going down well with customers, and these refurbished stores are delivering encouraging uplifts in both sales and profit. We continue to lay the foundations for future growth in our International business. Despite increased economic and currency headwinds in a number of our markets, impacting both sales and profits, we and our franchise partners remain confident in the business model and together continued to grow space."