The birth of Prince George failed to give a much-needed boost to sales at Mothercare, although the baby and maternity retailer did return to profit for the first time in three years.
Chief executive Simon Calver said: “I was surprised by some forecasters’ extrapolations on their spreadsheets, and didn’t expect a big increase in sales from the royal birth.”
He joked: “I’ve yet to see what the expected pregnancy rates are, so we’ve got a few months to go before we know whether there could be a baby boom as a result.“
Total sales for the six months to October 12 grew 4.4% to £637.7 million. Mothercare swung into the black for the first time since 2010, with underlying pre-tax profits of £2 million, after a £1.8 million loss last year.
The international business continued to perform well and the UK stores’ decline slowed to a 1.4% fall in sales from 3.4% a year earlier. Online has proved popular, with customers shopping in store and online spending four times more than those who just shop in stores.
