Dobbies reports pre-tax losses of £48.4 million

Tesco-owned Dobbies Garden Centres has reported pre-tax losses of £48.4 million, compared with a £6.6 million profit last year. Filings at Companies House stated that the pre-tax loss arose ‘as a result of a £54.4m impairment of the Company’s tangible and intangible assets’.

Connor Campbell, a senior market analyst at www.spreadex.com, gave us his views:

“Things are far from rosy for Dobbies Garden Centres, with the company’s full year report showing a worrying £48 million fall into the red following a write-down on the value of its stores. Despite an 8% jump in sales to £153 million the profit plunge (down 9% even excluding the £54.4 million in impairments) was all investors took away from the update, helping to send Tesco, which owns the brand, to fresh 15 year lows.”

A spokesperson from Dobbies said:

“We are pleased with our full-year trading performance in 2014-15. This demonstrates that our strategy of putting plants and gardening first is working … Our strategy remains focused on our core categories of plants and gardening, which we are confident will fuel our growth in the future.”

They added that sales at established stores had risen over the reporting period and said that underlying profit and cash generation were ahead of expectations. Gross profit rose by 9.3% to £77m.

Source : Insight DIY Team