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Reuters
Published
Mar 26, 2009
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Moss Bros posts full-year loss of 5 million

By
Reuters
Published
Mar 26, 2009

By Rhys Jones

LONDON (Reuters) - Moss Bros (MOSB.L), the men's fashion retailer, met expectations by posting a full-year loss of 5 million pounds after a deterioration in trading and said sales had continued to slow in the new year.



Moss Bros' pretax loss for the year to end of January compares to a profit of 0.2 million pounds at the same stage last year.

The consensus forecast on Reuters Estimates showed analysts, on average, expected the company to deliver a pretax loss of 5 million pounds for the year.

The company, which owns brands such as Moss, Cecil Gee and Hugo Boss, said group revenue for the year was broadly unchanged at 129.6 million pounds but that like-for-like sales for the year were down 3.2 percent.

It said like-for-like sales for the first six weeks of the current year were down 9.4 percent.

Moss Bros said it should be able to operate within its current uncommitted 5 million pounds overdraft facility which expires on December 1, 2009, and would seek to renew the facility in due course.

"The balance sheet remains robust, with ongoing bank facilities in place and we have a strong management team to lead the business through and out the other side of this recession," new Chief Executive Brian Brick said in a statement.

The group said it had decided not to propose a final dividend because it was more prudent to conserve cash in the current uncertain economic environment.

Shares in Moss Bros, which have lost around half of their value over the last three months, closed at 8.25 pence on Wednesday March 25, valuing the group at around 8 million pounds.

(Editing by Simon Jessop)

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