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| Mothercare and Clinton Cards issue profit warnings | Mothercare and Clinton Cards issue profit warnings |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Mothercare has issued a profit warning after the winter weather hit its business. | Mothercare has issued a profit warning after the winter weather hit its business. |
| Like-for-like sales in the last three months of 2010 fell 5.8% as the freezing conditions caused "widespread disruption". | |
| Toy sales were hardest hit after the firm cut off Christmas online orders early to ensure delivery. | Toy sales were hardest hit after the firm cut off Christmas online orders early to ensure delivery. |
| Meanwhile Clinton Cards said the weather had seen sales fall 2.1% in the last five weeks of the year. | Meanwhile Clinton Cards said the weather had seen sales fall 2.1% in the last five weeks of the year. |
| It said "the impact of such adverse weather conditions" was "disappointing" and that full year profits would be "significantly lower" than market expectations. | |
| However, there was better news from Majestic Wine, which thanked "loyal customers for battling through December's dreadful weather conditions" as it saw UK like-for-like sales growth - which strips out the impact of new stores - of 3.7% in the nine weeks to 3 January. | |
| Weather 'victims' | |
| Mothercare said that the poor weather had reduced UK like-for-like sales in the third quarter by about 4%, and that its out-of-town shopping centres had particularly suffered from the disruption. | |
| And it warned that annual gross profits from the UK would be 1% lower than previously stated, adding that the consumer environment remained "difficult". | |
| However, the firm has continued to see strong growth in its international business where sales grew by 17.6% between September and January compared with same period a year earlier. | |
| "Despite growing international sales, an already challenged UK business now forms another victim of the cold weather," said Keith Bowman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers. | |
| "The group's shift towards out-of-town premises appears to have worked against it, whilst like rival Next, the fragilities of time critical direct online Christmas sales have been exposed." | |
| Earlier this week, Next said the December snow had cost it £22m in Christmas sales, but that profits remained on target. | |
| And HMV blamed the bad weather as well as "challenging trading conditions" for a 10% fall in festive sales, and warned profits would be at the lower end of forecasts. |