Luxury interior furnishings firm Walker Greenbank plc (LON:WGB) posted a 28.3% decline in first-half profits as difficult trading in the UK hit sales.
Adjusted underlying pre-tax profit in the six months to July 30 fell to £4.3mln from £6.0mln a year ago and sales dropped 1.4% to £54.7mln.
The company said the weaker sales reflected a poor performance in the UK of its “Style Library“ portfolio of brands including Sanderson, Morris & Co., Harlequin, Zoffany, Scion, and Anthology.
Total brand revenue decreased 3.9% to £44.6mln with product sales down 4.6%.
In the UK, which is the group’s largest market, sales fell 5.9% to £23.1mln due to the impact of weaker UK consumer confidence.
Sales in the US, the company’s second-biggest market, dipped 0.7% to £6.9mln while sales in Western Europe fell 4.6% to £5.8mln.
Licencing income, however, was up 35.4% to £2mln, boosted by new apparel collaborations and a strong performance from Japanese licensees.
Manufacturing sales increased 1.4% to £16.3 million compared with the same period last year.
In a bid to boost sales, the company said it planned to cut costs, expand internationally and extend its licensing and product categories.
The group left its full-year guidance unchanged.
READ: Wallpaper maker Walker Greenbank slumps on profit warning after weak UK brand sales
The interim dividend was maintained at 0.69p per share.
In mid-morning trading, shares dropped 3.2% to 72.06p.