Arcadia’s profits plummet by 42%

Arcadia Group’s parent company Taveta Investments has reported a 42% drop in the company’s profit for the year to 26 August 2017.

The group – which owns high street chains Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge – made £124.1m in profits before goodwill, amortisation and exceptional items. Total sales fell by 5.6% to £1.9bn, which was a decline of £113m. Online sales increased by 11.5%.

The financial results were described by the group as “disappointing” but said it remained a “strongly cash generative business”. Arcadia ended the year with a positive net cash balance of £157.2m.

Ian Grabiner, chief executive of Taveta Investments, said: “The retail environment remains highly competitive and challenging. Our worldwide digital sales were +11.5% [versus] last year.

“The increase in digital sales is taking place at the expense of traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ retailing, as consumers embrace the opportunity to purchase across all the channels available to them.”