Ted Baker posts half year loss, shares crash

Ted Baker shares plunge after value of inventory overstated by £58m

Ted Baker posted posted a pre-tax loss on Thursday as the retailer battles against “unprecedented” trading conditions.

Shares in the British luxury clothing retail business were sent crashing over 35% during trading on Thursday morning.

Ted Baker said that profit before tax decreased to a loss of £23 million over the 28 week period to 10 August, down from the £24.5 million profit recorded in 2018.

The company said that its results for the first half were behind its expectations. It added that trading in the second half has started slow, not helped by the warm weather in September, which it believes will have an impact on the full year.

“If these trends continue, we will achieve a second half result below that of last year,” Ted Baker warned.

“The Group’s performance has been impacted by very difficult trading conditions throughout the period, amplified by heightened levels of consumer uncertainty across many of Ted Baker’s global markets,” the company said in its results.

“This has been exacerbated by the well-publicised challenges that continue to face some of the Group’s UK trading partners against the backdrop of the continuing shift towards an increasingly digital retail landscape.”

Ted Baker warned of the “extremely difficult” trading conditions back in June, and the impacts these continue to have on its performance.

“The sector in which we operate continues to face significant challenges, including weak consumer spending against a backdrop of Brexit and broader political and economic uncertainty,” the company warned.

Indeed, the nation has now entered the month of the Brexit deadline and the only certainty that prevails is additional uncertainty.

“As a result, the trading environment remains highly competitive and promotional with competitor discounting at unprecedented levels. We continue to proactively manage these pressures, but are not immune to the external challenges,” Ted Baker said.

From discounting, the switch to online shopping and the prevailing Brexit uncertainty, UK retailers are struggling amid the gloomy trading conditions to have hit the British high street.

Shares in Ted Baker plc (LON:TED) were trading at -35.82% as of 11:06 BST Thursday.

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