ScS Group PLC (LON:SCS) has reported a decline in its like-for-like (LFL) order intake in the second half of its financial year as the hot summer weather and challenging retail environment dragged on its figures.
In a trading update ahead of its full-year results, the sofa retailer said its LFL order intake in the second half had declined by 2.6%, compared to a growth of 2.2% in the first half, while for the full year, LFL order intake had grown by about 0.2%.
READ: ScS delivers first-half sales growth but warns on 'challenging' retail market
The group also suffered a particularly steep drop in the second half from its concessions in department store House of Fraser, with LFL orders in the division falling 4.3%, steeper than the 0.4% decline in the first half.
Despite the declines, the company said overall orders for the year had risen 1.3% and that it had traded in line with its expectations, with chief executive David Knight adding that the result demonstrated “the increasingly resilient nature of our business and the success of our value proposition”.
The company also repeated its reference to the “challenging retail market”, which has seen a spate of large high street retailers suffering collapse or severe financial distress in 2018 including Mothercare PLC (LON:MTC), Carpetright PLC (LON:CPR), and more recently discounter Poundworld.
In early morning trading Wednesday, ScS shares were down 0.7% at 213p.