The Works (LON:WRKS) have seen their shares spike on Thursday as the firm reported record trading over the festive period.

The stationary, books, toys and arts and crafts retailer said to shareholders that like for like sales in the 11 weeks period rose by 1.5%, notably this showed an impressive period of trading across Christmas as the period ended on January 12.

The company has been forced to increase discounting to boost sales, as the retailer has seen slowing sales post Christmas.

For its first-half, the six months to October 27, revenue climbed by 5.4% year-on-year to £96.4 million from £91.5 million. On a like-for-like basis however, sales were 3.6% lower during the period.

Its pretax loss narrowed to £8.5 million from £9.1 million last year which has been reflected in todays share price surge.

The Works held its interim dividend at 1.2 pence per share.

The Works also noted that 33 new stores were opened and five were closed, bringing the total estate to 525 stores as at 27 October 2019. Two stores were relocated during the Period and a further net 13 stores were added following the period end.

Gavin Peck, Chief Executive Officer of The Works, commented:

“I am pleased to report that the Company delivered a solid performance during the key Christmas trading period with like-for-like sales up 1.5%. This was driven by growth in both stores and online. However, to ensure we are well placed to deliver profitable growth in the medium-term we have taken action to refocus our strategy by opening fewer new stores, with a view to driving improved performance in our existing estate and increasing our focus on cost savings. We remain confident in the prospects for the Company with the business trading-in line with the Boards’ full-year expectations.

“I am delighted to be taking on the role of CEO. The Works is a great business with fantastic colleagues providing a compelling and differentiated offering for our customers. Building on the Company’s established foundations, I look forward to leading The Works in its next phase and creating value for all of our stakeholders.”

The Works outlook

“Since the end of the Period, the Group has delivered an improved LFL sales performance and continues to trade in line with the Board’s expectations for the full financial year. As noted above, we have taken proactive action to refocus the Company’s growth strategy to help ensure a return to profitable growth. We remain confident of the Group’s growth opportunities given our differentiated proposition, offering a wide range of new products at outstanding value, through our unique multi-channel offering, which continues to resonate well with customers.”

Chief Executive Departure

The firm also reported that its Chief Executive is set to depart following a nine year tenure with the firm.

Kevin Keaney left his post as CEO with immediate effect, and has stepped down from the company board.

Chief Financial Officer Gavin Peck, who took on the role in April 2018, has been named as the new CEO, also with immediate effect. He was formerly the commercial director at greeting cards seller Card Factory PLC (LON:CARD).

The Works said its current Head of Finance Rosie Fordham as been appointed as the interim CFO.

Commenting, Chairman, Dean Hoyle, said:

“On behalf of the Board and all of our colleagues, I would like to thank Kevin for his leadership and commitment to the Company over the last nine years. He has helped establish The Works as a leading multi-channel value retailer, has built a fantastic culture and successfully guided the Company through its IPO in 2018. We wish him all the very best for the future.

“We are delighted to appoint Gavin as CEO. Since joining The Works he has played a key role in growing and strengthening the business amidst a challenging retail backdrop. He brings significant industry knowledge as well as commercial and finance experience to lead the business into the future.”

Commenting, Kevin Keaney said:

“After an incredible nine years, I believe now is the right time for me to hand over to a new CEO to lead The Works through its next phase of development. Whilst this has been a very difficult decision, it feels like the right time to take a break, spend time with my family and think about what I want to do next.

“It’s been a privilege to lead The Works over these past years and more recently as a public company. It is a tremendous business supported by incredibly talented colleagues. I am immensely proud of all that we have achieved together and I would like to thank the Board and everyone at The Works for their support through the years. I am delighted to be handing over to Gavin who I have worked closely with over the last 20 months and I am confident that under Gavin’s leadership the business will go from strength to strength.”

The Works bounce back following November warning

In November, the firm warned shareholders about their next trading update statistics, alluding to lower profit levels.

The Works warned warned that full year pre-tax profits are expected to come in ‘significantly below’ the current consensus of £7.3 million.

During the six month period, ending in October total revenue rose 5.4%, although even stripping out the impact of last year’s Squishies fad, like-for-like sales were down 1.9%.

British retail

The Works have seemingly managed to shrug off the slumping British High Street, however it has not been all good for other firms.

Notably, due to the slump on the British high street Mothercare (LON:MTC) announced that the company has entered administration, which will cease all business operations in November.

All 79 of Mothercare’s UK stores are set to shut as administrators get the ball rolling to close this case.

The UK firm “has been loss-making for a number of years”, but international franchises are profitable, PwC said.

In December, it was announced that the baby goods firm was not making sufficient profits and that management had failed to find a buyer.

Joint administrator Zelf Hussain said: “This is a sad moment for a well-known High Street name,” adding that Mothercare “has been hit hard by increasing cost pressures and changes in consumer spending.”

“It’s with real regret that we have to implement a phased closure of all UK stores. Our focus will be to help employees and keep the stores trading for as long as possible,” Mr Hussain said.

The Works have impressively bounced back from a poor update back in November, although shareholders have been warned about lower post-Christmas sales, there can be a sense of relief with the update provided today.

Shares in The Works trade at 34p spiking 9.68%. 16/1/20 11:44BST.

Moss Bros Group plc (LON:MOSB) have given shareholders a mixed update on Thursday morning.

The firm said that it expects its adjusted loss to widen within the financial year following a decline in high street retail.

The suit and tailored clothing retailer said it has made “good” progress in the 24 weeks period from July 28 to January 11, despite a challenging retail marketplace.

The retailer rather worryingly reported that it is expecting to report an adjusted pretax loss of £1 million for the second half, which ends this month.

Across financial 2019, the firm reported an adjusted pretax loss of £400,000 and in the 26 weeks period the company has just about broken even with regards to its adjusted pretax profit level.

Total sales for the recent 24-week period were 3.0% below last year and down 3.2% on a like-for-like basis, they noted that two stores were relocated and two closed giving a total portfolio of 128 stores.

Moss remain optimistic in future outlook

Brian Brick, Chief Executive Officer, said:

“As I noted at the time of our Interim Results in September, we are gaining traction across a number of strategic levers which are aligned with our longer-term strategic goals.”

“We have seen more intensive discounting from our competitors and a materially lower level of footfall across the high streets and shopping centres of the UK. Despite this, we have resisted discounting pressures, facilitated by our careful buying plans which have meant that we are holding lower levels of terminal stock to clear. This has been particularly evident in our High Street stores where we were able to focus on delivering our core purpose of styling individuals for on form moments.”

“We continue to deliver against our brand elevating customer value proposition of offering our customers the chance to “Make It Yours”, whether they wish to hire, buy or customise their outfit using our Tailor Me service, which goes from strength to strength.”

“Despite the delivery of progress against our strategic levers, we anticipate the year ahead will continue to be challenging until we see an improvement in consumer confidence and a stabilisation in footfall across UK shopping destinations combined with a re-alignment of occupancy costs to properly balance the costs and rewards of doing business in physical retail stores.”

“We remain debt free, with a strong balance sheet, and are confident in our ability to deliver enhanced returns to our shareholders over the longer term”.”

The Group will announce its Preliminary Results on 25 March 2020.

Moss slip from September Success

In September, Moss reported that they had seen revenues climb in their half year results.

Moss Bros said that, for the 26 weeks ended 27 July, total group revenue excluding VAT amounted to £65.4 million – 1.4% up on the previous year.

Meanwhile, online sales across all platforms grew by 20% when compared to the same period a year prior. Moss Bros added that online sales from all channels now represents 15% of its total sales.

However, the company added that loss before tax widened to £2.7 million, deeper than the £1.7 million figure recorded for the first half of 2018.

Additionally, the firm announced that it had appointed Ted Baker’s (LON:TED) current interim Chief Financial Officer as its new CFO.

Moss Bros said that the current interim CFO at Ted Baker (LON:TED), Bill Adams, will take over the role from Tony Bennett.

Tony Bennett has decided to step down from the company’s board for “personal reasons” and is due to leave the business early next year in February 2020.

N Brown Group plc (LON:BWNG) have seen their shares crash over 24% following the issuance of a profit warning.

Shares in N Brown trade at 107p (-24.59%). 16/1/20 11:10BST.

The firm issued a profit warning on Thursday morning which also saw a mixed performance within its retail operations and struggles in its financial services unit.

Within the 18 week period, Brown saw total revenue fall by 5% to January 4. Notably, womenswear saw positive growth of 1.1% year on year, as digital revenue also grew 6.7% following growth in its Simply Be brand.

The Simply Be Brand was one of the standout performers for Brown, as revenue climbed 12% from a year ago and online revenue surged 13%.

In the Womenswear sector, Brown holds brands such as JD Williams and Ambrose Williams.

In this department, both brands such year on year revenue growth of 0.4% and 7.9% respectively, however both brands saw overall revenue declines.

Notably, in the JD Williams brand segment total revenue slumped by 4% and Ambrose Wilson fell further by 9.6%.

Jacamo, one of the menswear brands that the firm holds saw a rise in digital revenue of 3.2%, which pushed overall revenue up by 2.5%.

Brown report mixed trading period

Steve Johnson, CEO, commented:

“This has been an encouraging period of peak trading for the business in a highly promotional market, as we delivered digital revenue growth across both Womenswear and Menswear with particularly strong digital growth from Simply Be and Ambrose Wilson as customers responded well to our ranges. Financial Services revenue was down, reflective of our strategic approach to the retail business and continued tightening of our lending criteria.”

“We are making good progress with our ongoing strategic review and look forward to providing further details at our full year results in April. Our work so far has highlighted the need to have a tighter brand portfolio, a sharper focus on product and a cost base appropriate for delivering sustainable digital growth. At the same time, we will continue to proactively address the accelerating and cumulative external factors which are anticipated to reduce the size of our Financial Services business over the next two years. These will significantly influence the way we will operate our Financial Services business and we are taking proactive measures to ensure that the change is managed appropriately. This is in line with our strategy of becoming a digitally focused, retail-led business.”

“Our expectations remain that the retail market will continue to be challenging and promotional, but we are focused on our clear strategy of delivering profitable digital growth.”

Change of fortunes for Brown

In October, the firm saw its shares bounces following the releasing of its half year results.

The Group, saw its profits surge on the back of a hike in online sales, which now comprise 84% of product revenue.

Despite a 5.4% contraction in Group revenue, the Company swung from a £23.8 million loss to a £14.7 million profit, in a year-on-year comparison of the six month period ended 31 August. Similarly, adjusted EBITDA rose 4.0% to £54.1 million and adjusted profit before tax grew 3.9% to £38.1 million.

The Womenswear market

When looking at the womenswear market, the stand out performer across 2019 was Boohoo (LON: BOO).

The firm lifted its annual guidance this week following strong revenue growth.

Also in the update, the firm said that it had appointed former JD Sports (LON:JD) chief financial officer as its new deputy chair.

Across the four month period, which ended on December 31, the firm said that its revenue had jumped 44% to £473.7 million from the £328.2 a year ago.

Boohoo said that it expects revenue growth for its financial year, which ends on February 29 to be between 40% and 42% ahead of their previous guided range of 33% to 38%.

The firm added that t expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation margin to be 10% to 10.2%, beating its previous guidance of around 10%.

Koovs struggle

Another rival who work in the womenswear department is Koovs (LON:KOOV).

Koovs have seen a poor period of trading, and notably in December were placed into administration.

The India focused online fashion retailer said that it continued to negotiate with major shareholder Future Lifestyle Fashions Ltd (NSE:FLFL) for completing its £6.5 million investment.

“The board expects that the business and assets of Koovs will be purchased from the administrator by a company connected to the company’s largest secured creditor, Waheed Alli, ensuring the continuation of the operating business,” the company said.

“If a replacement nominated adviser is not appointed within one month, the admission of the company’s securities will be cancelled on AIM. The company has no current intention of appointing a replacement nominated adviser,” Koovs added.

The future of Koovs is still being dealt with relevant brokers and legal authorities, however it does not look so bright.

Shareholders of Brown will be worried about the update and the crash in share price.

However, Brown can take away some positives such as the performance of Jacamo within the update.

South32 Ltd (LON:S32) have reported an impressive performance across the interim period however told shareholders that the coal sector remains cautious.

For the first half ended December, South32’s alumina production rose 4% year-on-year to 2.6 million tonnes, with Brazilian operations delivering a record performance.

Aluminium production was flat at 496,000 tonnes, which will not worry shareholders.

Nickel production did see a 2% slip in production to 20,600 tonnes whilst silver rose 2% to 6.1 million ounces.

The lead sector saw impressive growth for South32 as there was a rise in production to 55,300 tonnes seeing a 14% growth.

Additionally, Zinc production surged 24$ to 32,500 tonnes, and manganese ore production fell 3% to 2.9 million wet metric tonnes, and manganese alloy put was down 17% to 91,000 tonnes.

The coal sector, which is one of South32’s biggest operations saw production fall 2% to 12.6 million tonnes, as did metallurgical coal output declined by 7% to 2.9 million tonnes.

The miner alluded to tough market conditions for coal across the last few months, which has reduced activity in South Africa.

Shareholders will take note that the firm said that for coal output it expects production to be towards the bottom end of its guidance.

Graham Kerer, CEO of South32 commented

“We continued our strong start to the year, delivering record year to date production at Brazil Alumina and maintaining production guidance across the majority of our operations.

“We have acted decisively during the quarter in response to market conditions, reducing contractor activity at South Africa Energy Coal and higher cost trucking at our South Africa Manganese business.

“Our disciplined approach to capital allocation has enabled us to maintain our strong financial position and return a further US$331 million in the December 2019 half year with the continuation of our on-market share buy-back and payment of our ordinary dividend in respect of the prior six months.

“We have taken further action to reshape and improve our portfolio. We exercised our option to acquire a 50% interest in the base metals focussed Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects in Alaska, entered into a binding conditional agreement for the sale of South Africa Energy Coal and progressed the review of our manganese alloy smelting exposure.”

Planned sale of South African coal

The firm said that it will sell its subsidiary coal unit for ZAR100 million in an upfront payment deal, in November.

The miner’s 92% holding in SA Coal Holdings Proprietary Ltd will be bought by a subsidiary of South African coal miners Seriti Resources Holdings Proprietary Ltd, a local community trust, and an employee trust.

Each trust will take a five percent stake each, with Seriti holding 82%.

The remaining eight per cent not included in the deal, is held by industrial investors Phembani Group Proprietary Ltd.

Seriti will make an up-front cash payment of about 100 million rand ($6.8 million), based on an enterprise value of 1.25 billion rand, to acquire South32 SA Coal Holdings Proprietary Ltd, South32 said in a statement.

South African mining scene

A big titan in the mining industry, Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) also operate in South Africa, in similar fashion to South32.

Rio Tinto who are one of the blue chip miners have made announcements that they have worked with Savannah Resources (LON:SAV) to win licenses for operations outside of South Africa.

However, Rio have seen their operations slowdown in South Africa. Rio Tinto gave shareholders a cautious outlook over safety concerns at its Richard Bay Minerals unit in South Africa.

The firm said it has shut down the project over fears for the safety of its employees due to an “escalation in violence in the communities surrounding the operations”.

“There has been an escalation of criminal activity towards RBM employees and one was shot and seriously injured in the last few days. As a result, all mining operations at RBM have been halted and the smelters are operating at a reduced level, with a minimum number of employees now on site. Construction of the Zulti South project has also been temporarily paused,” Rio said.

The miner said it will contact its customers to “minimise potential disruptions”.

As a result of this, Rio said its titanium dioxide slag production in 2019 will be at the bottom end of the guided range of 1.2 million tonnes to 1.4 million.

South32 can be pleased with the update given today, and the firm will be looking to produce a finer string of results across 2020.

Shares in the firm trade at 149p (-1.01%). 16/1/20 10:52BST.