Clarks falls to £40m loss

Clarks has revealed that it posted a loss of £39.8m for the year ended 31 December 2023, down from a profit of £35.9m in 2022.

The company has put this down to a number of one-off costs in 2023 including £4.6m on restructuring.

This also includes a £3m increase in the bad debt provision for sales made by the company to its joint venture and an impairment charge on store assets of £41.6m and £3.6m to support a major upgrade to legacy systems.

This comes despite the fact that the company posted revenues of £994.5m, up from £980.3m.

Clarks stated that it saw “weak demand in full price channels”, its Western outlet stores performing below expectations and wholesale demand reduced.

The company stated: “A combination of the above factors has resulted in loss after tax performance short of target expectations and last year’s levels. Weaker consumer sentiment is exacerbated by the hangover from supply chain issues in 2022 that has impacted the confidence of some consumers and trade partners, along with continued structural pressure on margins from exchange rates and inflationary impacts on costs.

“The business and trading environment at the close of 2023 is one of ongoing uncertainty and relative pessimism, especially in the Western hemisphere. Continuing major conflicts and inflationary pressures are the key drivers in subdued consumer sentiment, resulting in stagnant economic growth expectations in major markets.”