REG - Brown (N.) Group PLC - Half-year Report <Origin Href="QuoteRef">BWNG.L</Origin> - Part 1

N BrownAnnouncement

12/10/2017 07:06

RNS Number : 3770T
Brown (N.) Group PLC
12 October 2017
12th October 2017
N BROWN GROUP PLC
FIRST HALF RESULTS FOR THE 26 WEEKS ENDED 2 SEPTEMBER 2017
CONTINUED POSITIVE TRADING MOMENTUM AND MARKET SHARE GAINS
 
N Brown Group Plc, the online, specialist fit, fashion retailer today announces results for the 26 weeks to 2 September 2017 (H1 FY17: 26 weeks to 27 August 2016). 
m
26 weeks to 2 September 2017
26 weeks to 27 August 2016
% change year on year
Product revenue
323.5
300.9
+7.5%
Financial Services revenue
129.9
128.5
+1.1%
Group revenue
453.4
429.4
+5.6%
Adjusted EBITDA*
49.0
49.1
-0.2%
Adjusted PBT**
32.2
31.6
+1.8%
Statutory PBT***
(27.6)
21.1
-
Adjusted EPS**
8.77p
8.95p
-2.0%
Statutory EPS***
(7.50p)
5.98p
-
Net debt
305.7
286.7
+6.6%
Interim dividend
5.67p
5.67p
-
* Adjusted EBITDA is defined as operating profit, excluding exceptionals, with depreciation and amortisation added back
** Defined as excluding exceptionals and unrealised FX movement and therefore represents the underlying trading performance
***Includes previously announced exceptional costs of 54.9m, predominantly relating to customer redress for historic general insurance products and store closures
First half highlights:
 Strong Power Brand performance, with revenue +14.3% and active customers +7.5% (excluding Fifty Plus) 
o JD Williams brand revenue +12.1%; Fifty Plus -5.2%, migration now complete
o Simply Be +21.0% 
o Jacamo +6.7%
o Including the Fifty Plus title, Power Brand revenue +11.5% and active customers +5.9%
 Ladieswear revenues +9.5% with 90bps increase in market share (size 16+)
 Continued good progress with brand and retail partnerships:
o Further new third-party brands added including Levi's, Mango, Oasis, Tommy Hilfiger and Ugg
o Today announcing partnerships with Amazon Fashion (Simply Be and Jacamo), Namshi (Simply Be) and Debenhams (Jacamo) to sell capsule collections online 
 Product gross margin -190bps to 54.0%, as expected, driven by FX headwinds
 Strong online metrics:
o Online revenue +14% yoy; online revenue of Power Brands +21%
o Online penetration 72%, +4ppts yoy 
o 76% of all traffic from mobile devices 
 Financial Services performance driven by ongoing good quality of the customer loan book, with Financial Services gross margin +150bps to 56.5% and full year gross margin guidance increased
 High & Mighty now live on new web platform and Financial Services system. Systems investment programme now run in-house by our IT change team, with a focus on commercial return 
Angela Spindler, Chief Executive, said:
"I am very pleased to report continued good trading in the half, with Simply Be the standout performer recording 21% growth. We made significant ladieswear market share gains against what remains a subdued consumer backdrop. In line with other retailers, FX rates represent a headwind and this was particularly felt this half. 
"Our transformation into a flexible, online retailer continues to benefit all aspects of our business and we are today sharing our three growth levers going forwards. These are continuing to gain share in the UK, growing internationally and working in partnership with other companies to offer even more choice to our customers. 
"At this early stage in the second half, current trading is on track with our plan and we are focused and well prepared for the peak trading period ahead. We are confident in our ability to deliver sustainable long-term growth and achieve our international ambitions." 
Meeting for analysts and investors:
Management is hosting a presentation for analysts and investors at 10am. Please contact Nbrown@mhpc.comfor further information. A live webcast of the presentation will be available at: www.nbrown.co.uk.
 
 For further information:
N Brown Group 
Bethany Barnes (ne Hocking), Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
On the day: 07887 536153
Website: www.nbrown.co.uk
Thereafter: 0161 238 1845
MHP Communications
Andrew Jaques / Simon Hockridge / Gina Bell
0203 128 8789
NBrown@mhpc.com
About N Brown Group:
An expert in fashion that fits and flatters, N Brown is one of the UK's leading online retailers. Our key retail brands are JD Williams, Simply Be and Jacamo. We are all about democratising fashion and are size inclusive, focusing on the needs of underserved customer groups - size 20+ and age 45+. We offer an extensive range of products, predominantly clothing, footwear and homewares, and our Financial Services proposition allows customers to spread the cost of shopping with us.
We are headquartered in Manchester where we design, source and create our product offer and we employ over 2,600 people across the UK.
Next reporting date
The next reporting date is the Q3 trading statement in January 2018.
First half overview
We are pleased to report a good first half performance, as we continue to benefit from the transformative changes we made to the business over the past three years.
Group revenue was up 5.6% to 453.4m, with Product revenue up 7.5% and Financial Services revenue up 1.1%. Our three Power Brands all delivered a good performance, with Simply Be the standout with revenue growth of 21.0%. Against a subdued backdrop we delivered significant ladieswear market share gains.
Product gross margin was 54.0%, down 190bps year on year, as expected, due to the headwind from exchange rate differences year on year affecting the cost of goods sold. As previously guided this impact is first half weighted. Financial Services gross margin was up 150bps, driven by the continuing improvement in the quality of the customer loan book. Our underlying operating costs were well managed, with a good performance in marketing efficiency allowing us to continue to invest in talent. Our operating costs were also impacted by IT double running costs, as guided.
Adjusted trading profit before tax was 32.2m, up 1.8% year on year. The statutory loss for the half year of 27.6m relates to previously announced exceptional costs of 54.9m (discussed in more detail below) and largely relate to legacy issues.
The Board recognises the importance of the dividend to shareholders, and accordingly is proposing to hold the interim dividend consistent with last year, at 5.67p, as we continue to invest in the business to drive growth. 
Future growth levers
With the business now transformed into an agile, online retailer, we are today laying out our three growth levers, which will incrementally build going forwards. 
These are:
 Gain share in the UK. This will be driven through continual improvement in our customer experience, further development of our product offer and improving our brand cut-through. This growth lever is further driven through increasing the number of third-party brands on our websites, many of which are extended to larger sizes on an exclusive basis, offering more choice to our customers. 
 International expansion. The USA is our first priority, however we also intend to expand to other countries, initially through Global Ship Anywhere technology, which will be live by the end of FY18. In order to achieve our international ambitions we will leverage our current organisational capabilities and embed a global culture throughout our business. 
 Partnerships. This includes selling capsule ranges on other retailers' sites, on both a wholesale and marketplace offering. We also see a significant growth opportunity in influencer marketing, working together with bloggers and opinion formers to improve brand cut-through and further strengthen customer engagement. 
Our growth will be further enabled by the loyalty Financial Services engenders, our new systems capabilities and our internal talent. Our objective is to continue to invest in the business to grow revenue.
FY18 Guidance
We have made the following updates to FY18 guidance:
Product gross margin -120bps to -70bps, compared to -120bps to -20bps previously
Financial Services gross margin +100bps to +200bps, compared to flat to +100bps previously
Group operating costs up 4.5% to 5.5%, compared to 3.5% to 5.5% previously
Net debt 325m to 335m, compared to 300m to 320m previously, reflecting the increased cash flow impacts of exceptional costs, together with the growth of our customer loan book
Exceptional costs of an additional c.2m in the second half, as a result of our ongoing tax disputes with HMRC
Tax rate c.22%
Other guidance elements are unchanged from previously announced:
Depreciation & Amortisation 29m to 30m
Net interest 8m to 9m
Capex of c.40m
First half review
KPI performance
H1 FY18
H1 FY17
% change
CUSTOMERS
Active customer accounts
4.4m
4.2m
+5.2%
Power Brand active customer accounts
2.2m
2.1m
+5.9%
Power Brand customers exc. Fifty Plus
1.9m
1.8m
+7.5%
% Growth of our most loyal customers*
+2.4%
-0.4%
+280bps
Customer satisfaction rating**
83.7%
86.4%
-270bps
PRODUCT
Ladieswear market share, size 16+
5.7%
4.8%
+90bps
Menswear market share, chest 44"+
1.2%
1.2%
-
Group returns rate (rolling 12 months)
27.2%
27.0%
+20bps
ONLINE
Online penetration
72%
68%
+4ppts
Online penetration of new customers
80%
76%
+4ppts
Conversion rate
5.3%
5.7%
-40bps
% of traffic from mobile devices
76%
70%
+6ppts
FINANCIAL SERVICES 
Customer account arrears rate (>28 days)
9.3%
9.8%
-50bps
Provision rate 
10.3%
12.7%
-240bps
New credit recruits (Rollers)***
135k
120k
+13%
* Defined as customers who have ordered in each of the last four seasons
**UK Institute of Customer Service survey (UKICS)
***Last six months, rounded figures. Rollers are those customers who roll a credit balance. 
Market shares are estimated using internal and Kantar data, 24 weeks ending 27th August 2017 compared to 24 weeks ending 28th August 2016.
Customer KPI's
Our active customer file increased by 5.2% to 4.42m driven by our successful recruitment campaigns during the season. In line with our strategy of driving our Power Brands, we are pleased with the 7.5% increase in these active customers, or 5.9% if Fifty Plus is included. The migration of the Fifty Plus title into JD Williams was successfully completed at the end of the half. 
Our most loyal customers, being customers who have ordered in each of the last four seasons, increased by an encouraging 2.4%, a continuation of the improving trend reported for the second half of last year. This was due to both the good Power Brand performance together with the improvement in our Traditional segment. 
At 83.7%, our most recent customer satisfaction score from the UK Institute of Customer Service is 270bps lower than our previous score, however we remain ahead of the sector average. The decline was driven by two factors; firstly, a good season for new customer recruitment, which typically dilutes perception and secondly, a fire at a delivery partner's distribution centre caused significant delivery problems for a small group of customers, having a disproportionate impact on the satisfaction score. 
Product KPI's
Market share in Ladieswear (size 16+) was up 90bps at 5.7%, with significant gains across all age ranges. We also gained share in the size 16-18 segment. Our menswear market share was flat at 1.2%, with gains in the younger age groups. Our market share gains are a direct result of the investments we have made in our design team, our merchandising capabilities and our buying skills. 
Our returns rate increased by 20bps to 27.2%. This was driven entirely by mix, with Ladieswear, which has a naturally higher returns rate, outperforming. This dynamic was partially offset by the ongoing increase in the proportion of cash customers.
Online KPI's
Online revenue was up 14% year on year, and up 21% in our Power Brands. Online accounted for 72% of our sales during the half, up 4ppts year on year. 80% of sales from new customers were generated online, also up 4ppts on H1 FY17.
Mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) accounted for 76% of online traffic in the half, up 6ppts. Within this, smartphone sessions increased by 54% and now account for over half of all traffic. The increase in smartphone usage continued to cause our overall conversion rate to decline to 5.3% compared to 5.7% last year. This remains encouragingly above the industry average. The conversion rate for smartphones specifically exceeded 4% for the first time. 
We are pleased with the performance of our first shopping app for Simply Be. To date we have an average five star rating and our conversion rate is ahead of our expectations. We will continue to improve our app offering in the year ahead. 
Financial Services KPI's
We continue to perform well in Financial Services, driven by a continued improvement in the quality of the customer loan book. This resulted in revenue being up 1.1% year on year. Within this, interest payments grew low single digits, whilst non-interest lines were down double-digit. The improvement in the quality of the loan book continues to be reflected in the gross margin performance, which was up 150bps year on year to 56.5%. 
Credit arrears (>28 days) were 9.3%, down 50bps year-on-year, driven by the improvement in the quality of the book. The provision rate was 10.3%, down 240bps versus last year. As in FY17, this benefitted from the sale of a small amount of high risk payment arrangement debt, which we were able to sell for a slightly better rate than book value. We expect the rate to remain broadly steady for the remainder of the year.
We had an encouraging performance recruiting new credit customers who rolled a balance, with an increase of 13% compared to the first half of FY17. This was driven by both the good product revenue performance in the half and encouraging early results from the trial offering a lower APR for qualifying new customers on our three Power Brands. This trial continues ahead of the rollout of full variable APR functionality in 2018. 
On July 13th we announced a potential customer redress related to historic general insurance products. This was as a result of identifying flaws in certain products which were provided by a third party insurance underwriter and sold by the Group to its customers between 2006 and 2014 and followed a review prompted byan industry-wide request from the FCA that firmsensure that general insurance products and add-ons offer value for their customers. The vast majority of these products were sold to the Group's customers in the period leading up to, and including, 2011. Sales of the relevant products ceased in early 2014. As a result we have incurred an exceptional cost of 40m in the first half, in line with our previous guidance of 35 millionto40 million. We continue to explore mitigating actions to reduce the overall net cost. The cashflow impact of this is forecast to materially occur from FY19 onward, and the Group anticipates funding the full cost of customer redress from existing resources.
Performance by brand 
Revenue, m
H1 FY18
H1 FY17
Change
JD Williams
81.1
75.8
+6.9%
Simply Be
64.5
53.3
+21.0%
Jacamo
33.5
31.4
+6.7%
Power Brands
179.1
160.5
+11.5%
Secondary Brands
76.3
75.2
+1.4%
Traditional Segment
68.1
65.2
+4.4%
Product total
323.5
300.9
+7.5%
Financial Services
129.9
128.5
+1.1%
Group 
453.4
429.4
+5.6%
JD Williams
JD Williams' product revenue was 81.1m, up 6.9% yoy. Within this, the JD Williams brand was up 12.1% and Fifty Plus was down 5.2%, as expected. The migration of Fifty Plus is now complete. 
For the new Autumn Winter season we have refreshed the JD Williams brand proposition, launching JD Williams "The Lifestore". The JD Williams Lifestore brand aims to celebrate the attitudes, interests and ambitions of our female customers and positions the brand as a modern online department store for the 45 - 60 year old woman. Dubbed 'A Colourful Life', the new season advertising campaign stars five female models in a series of life moments including starting a new career, dating and reclaiming the home after children leave the nest, set to an uplifting soundtrack, Woman by the artist Ruelle. 
To support the brand's new-look and the AW17 ad campaign, we launched The Midster Report 2017: a state of the nation report surveying over 2,000 women aged 45 - 65, looking into body confidence, style and shopping behaviours, as well as women's attitudes towards key life moments such as relationships, dating, healthy living, life adventures and home and work-life balance. We hope our inspiring campaign will challenge traditional preconceptions of women in their 40s and 50s, redefining what it means to be 'middle aged', or, 'Midster', as we prefer to describe them. 
Simply Be is the go-to online brand for 25-45 year old confident curvy women. Simply Be had a very good performance during the half, with product revenue up 21.0%. Our #WeAreCurves campaign resonated strongly with customers, and we have built on the campaign further for the season ahead. 
As part of our continued championing of size inclusivity and body confidence, we recently held a Curve Catwalk on the eve of London Fashion Week. This was led by models and influencers including Tess Holliday, Hayley Hasselhoff and Felicity Hayward. The show was shoppable and streamed on the Simply Be site, backed by significant social media activity and had a total media reach of over 10million people.
Jacamo caters for 25-45 year old men of all body shapes and sizes, from small to 5XL. Jacamo product revenue was up 6.7% with active customers growing at almost double this rate. 
Our delivery subscription offering Jacamo Unlimited, launched in February 2017, has been very successful, with a double-digit increase in both order frequency and net sales per customer. We will be extending a delivery subscription offer to other brands in the future. 
Alongside our successful partnership with brand ambassador Freddie Flintoff, we also teamed up with Tom Morgan from television show The Undateables to promote our Jacamo own-brand summer range, with Tom posing for a series of untouched images to encourage all men to be comfortable in their own skin. 
Secondary brandsrevenue increased by 1.4%. Within this, Fashion World and Marisota both achieved good performances. Figleaves saw a revenue decline, in line with our expectations, as the new management team restructured the business and optimised our marketing approach. Going forwards we are now in a position to drive growth in this business. High & Mighty revenue declined year on year as we reduced marketing spend ahead of the new site go-live. 
The Traditional segment recorded revenue growth of 4.4% year on year as the actions we took to address performance worked well. Looking forward, our strategy in Traditional remains unchanged, that is, to hold overall revenues broadly flat through gaining share in this declining market.
Systems investment programme
The new platform is now live on the High & Mighty and USA sites, for High & Mighty this includes our new Financial Services system. As previously described, the programme has now been substantially scaled down, reducing costs, and our in-house IT change team are now delivering enhanced functionality through fortnightly releases. Our approach going forward will be to prioritise and focus on the developments that deliver the highest returns, such as Global Ship Anywhere and mobile Apps. Based on priorities, the timescale for migrating other brands onto the new platform is expected to commence in Q2 FY18. We will optimise the timing of these migrations to minimize commercial disruption. 
International
USA revenue was 8.1m, up 6.1% year on year (down 4.4% in constant currency terms), as expected. We stepped up our marketing investment towards the end of the period in order to drive new customer recruitment going forwards.
Ireland delivered revenues of 8.5m, up 17.3% year on year, or 7.4% in constant currency terms. 
Stores
In our first quarter trading statement we announced the closure of five dual fascia Simply Be and Jacamo stores as a result of weak high-street footfall, both current and predicted, together with significant future business rate increases for some stores. Together these five stores contributed 5.0m revenue but accounted for the entire 2.0m operating loss of our store estate in FY17. The store closures have now been completed, effective end of August, and have resulted in an exceptional cost of 13.8m in line with our previous guidance. 
Overall, revenue from our store estate was 10.6m (H1 FY17: 11.5m). As at the end of the first half we had 18 stores open, split 10 dual Simply Be and Jacamo stores (H1 FY17: 15), and eight High & Mighty stores (H1 FY17: nine). 
FX sensitivity
For FY18 we expect our annual purchases, net of international revenues, to be c.$125m, on which we have a hedging strategy in place, together with c.130m, where we face indirect cost pressures due to the depreciation of sterling.
Looking at our dollar exposure specifically, we are 100% hedged for the current financial year at a blended rate of $/1.29. This compares to a blended hedged rate of $/1.41 in FY17.
For FY19 we have, to date, hedged 56% of our net purchases at a blended rate of $/1.30. At a rate of $/1.30, and before any mitigating actions, this would result in a c.1m PBT tailwind compared to FY18. Every 5 cents move from this rate in our unhedged position would result in a PBT sensitivity of c.1.7m.
FINANCIAL RESULTS
Revenue performance
Revenue performance by quarter was as follows:
% yoy growth
Q1 (13wks)
Q2 (13wks)
Product
+10.2%
+4.9%
Financial Services
-4.9%
+7.2%
Group Revenue
+5.6%
+5.6%
The Q2 product performance is impacted by the comparable figures in the prior year, with a 4ppts tougher comparative in Q2 versus Q1. 
Revenue by category was as follows:
m
H1 FY18
H1 FY17
Change
Ladieswear
143.4
130.9
+9.5%
Menswear
44.9
42.4
+5.9%
Footwear & Accessories
38.7
34.2
+13.2%
Home & Gift
96.5
93.4
+3.3%
Product total
323.5
300.9
+7.5%
Gross margin
Product
Product cost of goods sold (COGS) were 148.7m, compared to 132.8m in H1 FY17. Product gross margin was 54.0%, down 190bps yoy, in line with our expectations. This was entirely due to the impact of FX rates year on year following the EU referendum. This impact was partially offset by the benefits of lower promotions and better underlying input prices.
Financial Services 
Our gross bad debt charge was 54.3m (H1 FY17: 55.1m). This bad debt charge, together with a small number of other financial services costs, resulted in a Financial Services gross margin of 56.5%, up 150bps year on year. This increase in gross margin is predominantly the result of continued improvement in the quality of the customer loan book, together with the sale of some high risk payment arrangement debt at a slightly better rate than book value.
Operating performance
m
H1 FY18
H1 FY17
Change
Product revenue
323.5
300.9
+7.5%
Financial Services revenue
129.9
128.5
+1.1%
Group Revenue
453.4
429.4
+5.6%
Product gross profit
174.8
168.1
+4.0%
Product gross margin
54.0%
55.9%
-190bps
Financial Services gross profit
73.5
70.7
+3.9%
Financial Services gross margin
56.5%
55.0%
+150bps
Group Gross Profit
248.3
238.8
+4.0%
Group Gross Margin %
54.8%
55.6%
-80bps
Warehouse & fulfilment
(42.5)
(38.2)
+11.3%
Marketing & production
(88.2)
(87.5)
+0.8%
Admin & payroll
(68.6)
(64.0)
+7.0%
Total operating costs
(199.3)
(189.7)
+4.8%
Adjusted EBITDA*
49.0
49.1
-0.2%
Adjusted EBITDA* margin
10.8%
11.4%
-60bps
Depreciation & amortisation
(12.9)
(13.6)
-4.9%
Adjusted Operating Profit**
36.1
35.5
+1.6%
Adjusted Operating Margin**
8.0%
8.3%
-30bps
Net Finance costs
(3.9)
(3.9)
+0.3%
Adjusted PBT**
32.2
31.6
+1.8%
Exceptional items
(54.9)
(10.2)
Unrealised FX movement
(4.9)
(0.3)
Statutory PBT
(27.6)
21.1
* Adjusted EBITDA is defined as operating profit, excluding exceptionals, with depreciation and amortisation added back
**Defined as excluding exceptionals and unrealised FX movement and therefore represents the underlying trading performance
Warehouse and fulfilment costs increased by 11.3% to 42.5m. This was driven predominantly by volumes, which were up 7% year on year, together inflationary pressures in fuel and labour, and further improvements to our delivery offering, partially offset by continued efficiencies.
Marketing costs were up 0.8% year on year, significantly below the rate of product revenue growth as we drove efficiency. Admin and payroll costs increased by 7.0%, due to double running IT costs, as previously guided, together with our continued investment in recruiting and retaining great talent.
EBITDA declined marginally to 49.0m. Depreciation and Amortisation decreased by 4.9% due to timing factors. Our guidance for the full year is 28m to 29m, implying a step up in the second half. Overall, operating profit before exceptional items was 36.1m, up 1.6% year on year.
Net finance costs
Net finance costs were 3.9m, flat on the H1 FY17, as a result of lower funding costs on our securitisation facility offset by a slight increase in net debt.
Exceptional items
Exceptional costs totalled 54.9m and are in line with prior announcements. The split of these costs is shown below.
m
H1 FY18
Customer redress for historic insurance products
40.0
Store closures
13.8
External costs related to taxation matters
1.1
Total exceptional costs
54.9
The customer redress for historic insurance products is discussed above.
The store closure exceptional cost was announced as part of our Q1 trading statement. Effective end of August we closed five Simply Be and Jacamo dual-fascia stores. This decision took into account weak high-street footfall, both current and predicted, together with significant future business rate increases for some stores. Together, these five stores contributed 5.0m revenue but accounted for the entire 2.0m operating loss of our store estate in FY17.
Taxation 
The effective underlying rate of corporation tax is 23.2% (H1 FY17: 20.0%). The overall tax charge was a credit of 6.4m (H1 FY17: 4.2m charge), as we recognised a tax credit due to the loss in the period.
Earnings per share
Earnings per share from continuing operations was a loss of 7.50p (H1 FY17: 5.98p). Adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations were 8.77p (H1 FY17: 8.95p).
Dividends
The Board recognises the importance of the dividend to shareholders, and accordingly is proposing to hold the interim dividend consistent with last year, at 5.67p, as we continue to invest in the business to drive growth. 
Balance Sheet and Cash Flow
Capital expenditure was 21.8m (H1 FY17: 19.3m). Inventory levels at the period end were up 5.9%, lower than the product revenue growth rate, to 104.7m (H1 FY17: 99.0m).
Gross trade receivables increased by 1.5% to 611.5m (H1 FY17: 601.8m). The provision declined from 76.4m to 62.8m, driven both by the sale of some high risk payment arrangement debt at a slightly better rate than book value, along with ongoing progress in reducing overall debtor risk. These two factors were partially offset by an increase in new credit recruits and average balance growth.
The group's defined benefit pension scheme has a surplus of 8.7m (H1 FY17: 0.5m surplus). This surplus is broadly in line with the year-end figure, with the first half of last year being impacted by weaker bond rates as a result of the EU referendum.
Net cash generated from operations (excluding taxation) was 43.8m compared to 59.2m last year. After funding capital expenditure, finance costs, taxation and dividends, net debt increased from 290.9m to 305.7m (H1 FY17: 286.7m), in line with our expectations. The 548.7m net customer loan book significantly exceeds this net debt figure. 
Unauditedcondensedconsolidatedincomestatement
26 weeks to 02-Sep-17
Before
26 weeks to 02-Sep-17
26 weeks to 02-Sep-17
26 weeksto 27-Aug-16
Before
26 weeksto 27-Aug-16
26 weeksto 27-Aug-16
53 weeksto 04-Mar-17
Exceptional
Exceptional
Exceptional
Exceptional
items
items (note5)
Total
items
items (note5)
Total
Total
Continuingoperations
Note
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
Revenue
4
453.4
-
453.4
429.4
-
429.4
900.7
Operating (loss) /profit
4
36.1
(54.9)
(18.8)
35.5
(10.2)
25.3
65.1
Financecosts
(3.9)
-
(3.9)
(3.9)
-
(3.9)
(7.7)
(Loss) / Profit before taxation and fair valueadjustments to financial instruments
32.2
(54.9)
(22.7)
31.6 
(10.2)
21.4
57.4
Fair value adjustments to financialinstruments
6
(4.9)
-
(4.9)
(0.3)
-
(0.3)
0.2
(Loss) / Profit beforetaxation
27.3
(54.9)
(27.6)
31.3
(10.2)
21.1
57.6
Taxation
7
(6.3)
12.7
6.4
(6.2)
2.0
(4.2)
(13.3)
(Loss) / Profit for theyear
21.0
(42.2)
(21.2)
25.1
(8.2)
16.9
44.3
(Loss) / Profit attributable to equity holders ofthe parent
21.0
(42.2)
(21.2)
25.1
(8.2)
16.9
44.3
Loss / earnings pershare
8
Basic
 (7.50)
p
5.98
p
15.67p
Diluted
(7.50)
p
5.98
p
15.66p
Unauditedcondensedconsolidatedstatement ofcomprehensiveincome
26 weeksto
26 weeksto
53 weeksto
02-Sep-17
27-Aug-16
04-Mar-17
m
m
m
(Loss)/Profitfortheperiod
(21.2)
16.9
44.3
Itemsthatwillnotbereclassifiedsubsequentlytoprofitorloss
Actuarialgains/(losses)ondefinedbenefitpensionschemes
0.1
(10.7)
(3.1)
Taxrelatingtoitemsnotreclassified
(0.1)
1.9
0.6
-
(8.8)
(2.5)
Itemsthatmaybereclassifiedsubsequentlytoprofitorloss
Exchangedifferencesontranslationofforeignoperations
(0.6)
0.4
0.5
Totalcomprehensive(loss)/incomefortheperiodattributable
toequityholdersoftheparent
(21.8)
8.5
42.3
Unaudited condensed consolidated balancesheet
02-Sep-17
27-Aug-16
04-Mar-17
Note
m
m
m
Non-currentassets
Intangibleassets
9
153.4
130.5
141.9
Property, plant &equipment
10
71.4
76.7
73.5
Retirement benefitsurplus
8.7
0.5
8.3
Deferred taxassets
2.3
3.9
2.4
235.8
211.6
226.1
Currentassets
Inventories
104.7
99.0
105.5
Trade and otherreceivables
11
594.6
561.7
575.4
Current taxasset
1.5
9.7
-
Derivative financialinstruments
6
-
1.9
2.5
Cash and cashequivalents
59.3
48.3
64.1
760.1
720.6
747.5
Totalassets
995.9
932.2
973.6
Currentliabilities
Trade and otherpayables
(120.4)
(116.9)
(98.9)
Provisions
13
(37.2)
(7.1)
(15.6)
Derivative financialinstruments
6
(2.4)
-
-
Current taxliability
-
-
(13.4)
(160.0)
(124.0)
(127.9)
Net currentassets
600.1
596.6
619.6
Non-currentliabilities
Bankloans
(365.0)
(335.0)
(355.0)
Provisions
13
(29.7)
(0.8)
(4.3)
Deferred taxliabilities
(8.2)
(11.5)
(8.2)
(402.9)
(347.3)
(367.5)
Totalliabilities
(562.9)
(471.3)
(495.4)
Netassets
433.0
460.9
478.2
Equity
Sharecapital
31.3
31.3
31.3
Share premiumaccount
11.0
11.0
11.0
Ownshares
(0.1)
(0.1)
(0.1)
Foreign currency translationreserve
1.7
2.2
2.3
Retainedearnings
389.1
416.5
433.7
Totalequity
433.0
460.9
478.2
Unaudited condensed consolidated cash flow statement
26 weeksto
26 weeksto
53 weeksto
02-Sep-17
27-Aug-16
04-Mar-17
m
m
m
Netcashfromoperatingactivities
35.3
50.7
89.0
Investingactivities
Purchasesofproperty,plantandequipment
(1.2)
(3.0)
(3.7)
Purchases of intangibleassets
(20.6)
(16.3)
(38.6)
Netcashusedininvestingactivities
(21.8)
(19.3)
(42.3)
Financingactivities
Interestpaid
(4.1)
(4.3)
(7.8)
Dividendspaid
(24.2)
(24.2)
(40.2)
Increase in bankloans
10.0
-
20.0
Purchase of shares byESOT
-
-
0.1
ProceedsonissueofsharesheldbyESOT
-
0.1
-
Netcashusedinfinancingactivities
(18.3)
(28.4)
(27.9)
Net(decrease)/increaseincashandcashequivalents
(4.8)
3.0
18.8
Openingcashandcashequivalents
64.1
45.3
45.3
Closingcashandcashequivalents
59.3
48.3
64.1
Reconciliation of operating (loss) / profit to net cash from operating activities
26 weeksto
26 weeksto
53 weeksto
02-Sep-17
27-Aug-16
04-Mar-17
m
m
m
Operating(loss)/profitfromoperations
(18.8)
25.3
65.1
Adjustmentsfor:
Depreciationofproperty,plantandequipment
2.8
2.7
6.9
Amortisationofintangibleassets
10.1
10.9
20.7
Share optioncharge
0.8
0.5
0.5
Operatingcashflowsbeforemovementsinworkingcapital
(5.1)
39.4
93.2
Decrease/(increase)ininventories
0.8
2.5
(4.0)
Increaseintradeandotherreceivables
(19.7)
(7.6)
(21.6)
Increase/(decrease)intradeandotherpayables
20.9
17.2
(0.2)
Increase inprovisions
47.2
7.9
19.9
Pensionobligationadjustment
(0.3)
(0.2)
(0.2)
Cash generated byoperations
43.8
59.2
87.1
Taxationpaid
(8.5)
(8.5)
1.9
Netcashfromoperatingactivities
35.3
50.7
89.0
Unaudited condensed consolidatedstatement
of changes inequity
Foreign
currency
Share
Share
Own
translation
Retained
capital
premium
shares
reserve
earnings
Total
m
m
m
m
m
m
Changesinequityforthe26weeksto2September2017
Balance at 4 March2017
31.3
11.0
(0.1)
2.3
433.7
478.2
Comprehensiveincomefortheperiod
Loss for theperiod
-
-
-
-
(21.2)
(21.2)
Otheritemsofcomprehensivelossfortheperiod
-
-
-
(0.6)
-
(0.6)
Totalcomprehensive(loss)fortheperiod
-
-
-
(0.6)
(21.2)
(21.8)
Transactionswithownersrecordeddirectlyinequity
Equitydividends
-
-
-
-
(24.2)
(24.2)
Issue of own shares byESOT
-
-
-
-
-
-
Share optioncredit
-
-
-
-
0.8
0.8
Taxonitemsrecogniseddirectlyinequity
-
-
-
-
-
-
Totalcontributionsbyanddistributionstoowners
-
-
-
-
(23.4)
(23.4)
Balance at 2 September2017
31.3
11.0
(0.1)
1.7
389.1
433.0
Changesinequityforthe26weeksto27August2016
Balanceat27February2016
31.3
11.0
(0.2)
1.8
432.1
476.0
Comprehensiveincomefortheperiod
Profit for theperiod
-
-
-
-
16.9
16.9
Otheritemsofcomprehensiveincome/(loss)fortheperiod
-
-
-
0.4
(8.8)
(8.4)
Totalcomprehensiveincomefortheperiod
-
-
-
0.4
8.1
8.5
Transactionswithownersrecordeddirectlyinequity
Equitydividends
-
-
-
-
(24.2)
(24.2)
PurchaseofownsharesbyESOT
-
-
-
-
-
-
Issue of own shares byESOT
-
-
0.1
-
-
0.1
Adjustmenttoequityforsharepayments
-
-
-
-
-
-
Share optioncredit
-
-
-
-
0.5
0.5
Taxonitemsrecogniseddirectlyinequity
-
-
-
-
-
-
Totalcontributionsbyanddistributionstoowners
-
-
0.1
-
(23.7)
(23.6)
Balance at 27 August 2016
31.3
11.0
(0.1)
2.2
416.5
460.9
Changesinequityforthe53weeksto4March2017
Balanceat27February2016
31.3
11.0
(0.2)
1.8
432.1
476.0
Comprehensiveincomefortheperiod
Profit for theperiod
-
-
-
-
44.3
44.3
Otheritemsofcomprehensiveincomefortheperiod
-
-
-
0.5
(2.5)
(2.0)
Totalcomprehensiveincomefortheperiod
-
-
-
0.5
41.8
42.3
Transactions with owners recorded directly in equity
Equitydividends
-
-
-
-
(40.2)
(40.2)
Issue of own shares byESOT
-
-
0.1
-
-
0.1
Share optioncredit
-
-
-
-
0.5
0.5
Taxonitemsrecogniseddirectlyinequity
-
-
-
-
(0.5)
(0.5)
Totalcontributionsbyanddistributionstoowners
-
-
0.1
-
(40.2)
(40.1)
Balance at 4 March2017
31.3
11.0
(0.1)
2.3
433.7
478.2
Notestotheunauditedcondensedconsolidatedfinancialstatements
1. Basis ofpreparation
ThiscondensedsetoffinancialstatementshasbeenpreparedinaccordancewithIAS34InterimFinancialReportingasadoptedbytheEU.
TheannualfinancialstatementsoftheGrouparepreparedinaccordancewithInternationalFinancialReportingStandards(IFRSs)asadoptedbytheEU.
AsrequiredbytheDisclosureGuidanceandTransparencyRulesoftheFinancialConductAuthority,thecondensedsetoffinancialstatementshasbeen
preparedapplyingtheaccountingpoliciesandpresentationthatwereappliedinthepreparationofthecompany'spublishedconsolidatedfinancialstatements
forthe53weekperiodended4March2017.Thecomparativefiguresforthe53weekperiodended4March2017arenotthecompany'sstatutoryaccounts
forthatfinancialperiod.Thoseaccountshavebeenreportedonbythecompany'sauditoranddeliveredtotheregistrarofcompanies.
Thereportoftheauditorwas(i)unqualified,(ii)didnotincludeareferencetoanymatterstowhichtheauditordrewattentionbywayofemphasiswithout
qualifyingtheirreport,and(iii)didnotcontainastatementundersection498(2)or(3)oftheCompaniesAct2006.
2. Key risks anduncertainties
Thereareanumberofpotentialrisksanduncertaintieswhichcouldhaveanimpactonthegroup'slong-termperformanceoverthenext12months.The
directorsroutinelymonitorallrisksanduncertaintiestakingappropriateactionstomitigatewherenecessary.Thekeyriskswhichhavebeenidentifiedas
potentiallyhavingamaterialimpactontheperformanceofthegroupareasfollows:businesschange/transformationunsuccessful;businesscontinuityand
cyber-security;regulatoryenvironment;taxationandgeneralcompetition.
Akeyriskfacingthebusinessisthesuccessfuldeliveryofthegroup'stransformationproject,Fit4fortheFuture.Whilsttheimplementationcontinuesto
beontimeandonbudgetanypotentialdelayscouldimpactontheleveloffuturebenefitswhichareexpectedtoarisefromtheproject.
BusinessinterruptioneventsareaneverpresentpossibilityfortheGroup.Potentialimpactsarebroadrangingandincludeshorttermdisruptiontotradeand
customerserviceresultinginanimpactonrevenue,marginandreputation.Inaddition,ourincreasedonlinepresenceandrelianceondigitalsystemsraises
theimportanceofcybersecuritytotheGroup.ForthcomingregulationsinrespectofdataprotectionincreasetheGroup'sfocusinthisarea.Business
continuityplansareinplaceandthegrouphasfurthermigratedITsystemsanddatasecurityriskwithinthebusinessthroughoutsourcingITservicestoa
specialist IT serviceprovider.
RecentandupcomingchangesinregulationareakeyconsiderationfortheGroup.Potentialimpactsarisingfromchangesinregulationare:increasedcosts,
erosionofmarginsandpotentialfinesorreputationaldamageifresponseplansarenotachieved.
CompetingeffectivelyacrossthekeyareasofProduct,FinancialServicesandCustomerServicesremainsakeydriverofcustomerrecruitmentandretention.
Potentialconsequencesofcompetitioninclude;lossofmarketshare,erosionofmarginsandafallincustomersatisfaction.Giventheuncertain
macro-economicbackdrop,whichparticularlyimpactsonthebusinessthoughinputcostinflation,remainingcompetitiveisevenmoreimportantinorderto
delivergrowth.
TheGrouphason-goingdiscussionswithHMRCinrespectofanumberofCorporationtaxandVATpositions.
ThecalculationoftheGroup'spotentialliabilitiesorassetsinrespectoftheseinvolvesadegreeofestimationandjudgementinrespectofitemswhosetax
treatmentcannotbefinallydetermineduntilresolutionhasbeenreachedwithHMRCor,asappropriate,throughlegalprocesses.Issuescan,andoftendo,
takeanumberofyearstoresolve.Furtherdetailsareincludedinnote7.
3. Goingconcern
Indeterminingwhetherthegroup'saccountscanbepreparedonagoingconcernbasis,thedirectorsconsideredthegroup'sbusinessactivitiestogether
withfactorslikelytoaffectitsfuturedevelopment,performanceandfinancialpositionincludingcashflows,liquidityposition,borrowingfacilitiesandthe
principalrisksanduncertaintiesrelatingtoitsbusinessactivities.
Thedirectorshaveconsideredcarefullyitscashflowsandbankingcovenantsforthenexttwelvemonthsfromthedateofapprovalofthegroup'sinterim
results.Conservativeassumptionsforworkingcapitalperformancehavebeenusedtodeterminetheleveloffinancialresourcesavailabletothegroupand
to assess liquidityrisk.
Thegroup'sforecastsandprojections,aftersensitivitytotakeaccountofallreasonablyforeseeablechangesintradingperformance,showthatthegroup
willhavesufficientheadroomwithinitscurrentloanfacilitiesof405m-whicharecommitteduntil2020-andits20moverdraftfacility.
Aftermakingappropriateenquiries,thedirectorshaveareasonableexpectationthatthegrouphasadequateresourcestocontinueinoperationalexistence.
Accordingly,theycontinuetoadoptthegoingconcernbasisinthepreparationoftheinterimfinancialstatements.
4. Businesssegments
26 weeksto
26 weeksto
53 weeksto
02-Sep-17
27-Aug-16
04-Mar-17
m
m
m
Analysisofrevenue-Homeshopping
Product
323.5
300.9
635.9
Financialservices
129.9
128.5
264.8
453.4
429.4
900.7
Analysisofcostofsales-Homeshopping
Product
(148.7)
(132.8)
(288.2)
Financialservices
(56.4)
(57.8)
(117.3)
(205.1)
(190.6)
(405.5)
Grossprofit
248.3
238.8
495.2
Gross margin -Product
54.0%
55.9%
54.7%
Gross margin - FinancialServices
56.5%
55.0%
55.7%
Warehouse &fulfilment
(42.5)
(38.2)
(81.3)
Marketing &production
(88.2)
(87.5)
(165.4)
Depreciation &amortisation
(12.9)
(13.6)
(27.6)
Other admin &payroll
(68.6)
(64.0)
(130.6)
Operatingprofitbeforeexceptionals
36.1
35.5
90.3
Exceptional items (see note5)
(54.9)
(10.2)
(25.2)
Segmentresult&operating(loss)/profit-Homeshopping
(18.8)
25.3
65.1
Financecosts
(3.9)
(3.9)
(7.7)
Fair value adjustments to financialinstruments
(4.9)
(0.3)
0.2
(Loss) / Profit beforetaxation
(27.6)
21.1
57.6
The group has one reportable segment in accordance with IFRS8 - Operating Segments which is the Home Shopping
segment.
The group's board receives monthly financial information at this level and uses this information to monitor the performance
of the Home Shopping segment, allocate resources and make operational decisions. Internal reporting focuses on the
group as a whole and does not identify individual segments. To increase transparency, the group has decided toinclude
an additional voluntary disclosure analysing product revenue within the reportable segment, by brand categorisation and
product typecategorisation.
26 weeksto
26 weeksto
53 weeksto
02-Sep-17
27-Aug-16
04-Mar-17
m
m
m
Analysis of product revenue bybrand
JDWilliams
81.1
75.8
160.5
SimplyBe
64.5
53.3
115.8
Jacamo
33.5
31.4
66.2
Powerbrands
179.1
160.5
342.5
Traditionalsegment
68.1
65.2
136.1
Secondarybrands
76.3
75.2
157.3
Total product revenue - Homeshopping
323.5
300.9
635.9
Analysis of product revenue bycategory
Ladieswear
143.4
130.9
260.0
Menswear
44.9
42.4
87.0
Footwear andaccessories
38.7
34.2
70.0
Home andgift
96.5
93.4
218.9
Total product revenue - Homeshopping
323.5
300.9
635.9
We have reclassified accessories from ladieswear to footwear and accessories in H1 FY18 and FY17 and restated the 
comparatives for HYE FY17 by3.4m.
The group has one significant geographical segment, which is the United Kingdom.
Revenue derived from international markets amounted to 18.7m (H1 FY17, 17.2m).
All segment assets are located in the UK, Ireland and USA. The assets in USA and Ireland total 8.5m (H1 FY17,7.9m)
5. Exceptionalitems
26 weeksto
26 weeksto
53 weeksto
02-Sep-17
27-Aug-16
04-Mar-17
m
m
m
External costs related to taxationmatters
1.1
1.2
2.5
Store closure costs /(credits)
13.8
-
(0.2)
Financial services customerredress
40.0
9.0
22.9
54.9
10.2
25.2
Following a recent industry-wide request from the FCA that firms ensure that general insurance products and add-ons offer value
for their customers, the Group identified flaws in certain insurance products which were provided by a third party insurance 
underwriter and sold by the Group to its customers between 2006 and 2014, with the majority sold up to and including 2011.
Following an assessment of the cost of potential customer redress, an exceptional charge of 40.0m was recognised during the period.
During the previous year, an exceptional charge of 22.9m (H1 FY17 9.0m) was recognised reflecting costs incurred or expected 
to be incurred in respect of payments for historical financial services customer redress.
External costs related to tax are in respect of on-going legal and professional fees which have been incurred as a result of the
Group's on-going disputes with HMRC regarding a number of historical tax positions.
In line with our strategy of reshaping our retail offering, during the period five loss making retail stores were closed which has 
resulted in non recurring cost of 13.8m in respect of asset write offs, onerous lease provisions and other related store closure costs.
Following the closures in 2016 of the clearance stores, the credit in FY17 represents lease exit costs being lower than originally anticipated.
6. Derivative financial instruments
Atthebalancesheetdate,detailsofoutstandingforwardforeignexchangecontractsthatthegrouphascommittedtoareasfollows:
26 weeksto
26 weeksto
53 weeksto
02-Sep-17
27-Aug-16
04-Mar-17
m
m
m
Notional Amount - Sterling contractvalue
148.5
45.5
94.2
Fair value of asset recognised
-
1.9
2.5
Fair value of (liability)recognised
(2.4)
-
-
Changesinthefairvalueofassets/(liabilities)recognised,beingnon-hedgingcurrencyderivatives,amountedtoachargeof4.9m
(H1FY17,0.3m)toincomeintheperiod.
Thefairvalueofforeigncurrencyderivativescontractsistheirmarketvalueatthebalancesheetdate.Marketvaluesarebasedonthe
durationofthederivativeinstrumenttogetherwiththequotedmarketdataincludinginterestrates,foreignexchangeratesandmarket
volatilityatthebalancesheetdate.
The financial instruments that are measured subsequent to initial recognition at fair value are all grouped into Level 2 (H1 FY17,same).
Level2fairvaluemeasurementsarethosederivedfrominputsotherthanquotedpricesincludedwithinLevel1thatareobservablefor
theassetortheliability,eitherdirectly(ieasprices)orindirectly(iederivedfromprices).TherewerenotransfersbetweenLevel1and
Level 2 during the period (H1 FY17,same).
7.Taxation
Thetaxationcreditforthe26weeksended2September2017isbasedontheestimatedeffectivetaxrateforthefullyearof23.2%
(H1 FY17,20%).
TheGrouphason-goingdiscussionswithHMRCinrespectofanumberofCorporationtaxandVATpositions.Thecalculationofthe
Group'spotentialliabilitiesorassetsinrespectoftheseinvolvesadegreeofestimationandjudgementinrespectofitemswhosetax
treatmentcannotbefinallydetermineduntilresolutionhasbeenreachedwithHMRCor,asappropriate,throughlegalprocesses.Issues
can,andoftendo,takeanumberofyearstoresolve.
InrespectofCorporationtax,asat2September2017theGrouphasprovidedatotalof4.6m(FY17:3.6m)forpotentialcorporationtax
futurechargesbasedupontheGroup'sbestestimationandjudgementand,whereappropriate,legalcounselsopinion.
InrespectofVAT,theGrouphasprovidedatotalof5.4m(FY17:5.4m)inrespectoffuturepaymentswhichtheDirectors'havea
reasonable expectation of making in settlement of these historicalpositions.
Inaddition,andseparatetotheabovepositions,theGroupcontinuestobeindiscussionwithHMRCinrelationtotheVATconsequences
oftheallocationofmarketingcostsbetweenourretailandcreditbusinesses.Atthisstageitisnotpossibletodeterminehowthe
matter will beresolved.
However,withinourhalfyearendVATdebtorisanassetof36.0m(FY17:36.0m)whichhasarisenasaresultofcashpayments
madeunderprotectiveassessmentsraisedbyHMRCandtheGroupestimatesthatafurther10mcouldbepaidunderthisassessment
intheforthcomingyear.Basedonlegalcounsel'sopinion,webelievethatwewillrecoverthisamountinfullfromHMRCandwe
are engaged in a legal process to doso.
Theinherentuncertaintyregardingtheoutcomeofthesepositionsmeanstheeventualrealisationcoulddifferfromtheaccountingestimates
andtherefore,impacttheGroup'sfutureresultsandcashflows.Basedupontheamountsreflectedinthebalancesheetasat
2September2017,theDirectorsestimatethattheunfavourablesettlementofthesecasescouldresultinachargetotheincome
statementofupto46.8m(includingthefullwriteoffoftheVATdebtornotedabove)andacashpaymenttoHMRCofupto22.7m.
Thefavourablesettlementofthesecaseswouldresultinarepaymentoftaxofupto53.1mandanassociatedcredittotheincome
statementofupto29.0m.
8. (Loss) / Earnings pershare
Earnings
26 weeksto
26 weeksto
53 weeksto
02-Sep-17
27-Aug-16
04-Mar-17
m
m
m
Total net (loss) / profit attributable to equity holders of the parent for the purpose of basic
and diluted earnings per share
(21.2)
16.9
44.3
Fair value adjustment to financial instruments (net of tax)
3.8
0.2
(0.2)
Exceptional items (net oftax)
42.2
8.2
20.2
Total net profit attributable to equity holders of the parent for the purpose of basic
and diluted adjusted earnings per share
24.8
25.3
64.3
Number ofshares
26 weeksto
26 weeksto
53 weeksto
02-Sep-17
27-Aug-16
04-Mar-17
No.('000s)
No.('000s)
No.('000s)
Weighted average number of shares in issue for the purpose
of basic earnings pershare
282,795
282,613
282,701
Effect of dilutive potential ordinary shares:
Shareoptions
-
101
252
Weighted average number of shares in issue for thepurpose
of diluted earnings pershare
282,795
282,714
282,953
(Loss) / Earnings pershare
Basic
(7.50)
p
5.98
p
15.67
p
Diluted
(7.50)
p
5.98
p
15.66
p
Adjusted earnings pershare
Basic
8.77
p
8.95
p
22.74
p
Diluted
8.77
p
8.95
p
22.72
p
9. Intangibleassets
Customer
Brands
Software
database
Total
m
m
m
m
Cost
At 27 February2016
16.9
256.7
1.9
275.5
Additions
-
16.5
-
16.5
At 27 August2016
16.9
273.2
1.9
292.0
Additions
-
21.2
-
21.2
At 4 March2017
16.9
294.4
1.9
313.2
Additions
-
21.6
-
21.6
At 2 September2017
16.9
316.0
1.9
334.8
Amortisation
At 27 February2016
8.0
140.7
1.9
150.6
Charge for theperiod
-
10.9
-
10.9
At 27 August2016
8.0
151.6
1.9
161.5
Charge for theperiod
-
9.8
-
9.8
At 4 March2017
8.0
161.4
1.9
171.3
Charge for theperiod
-
10.1
-
10.1
At 2 September2017
8.0
171.5
1.9
181.4
Carryingamounts
At 2 September2017
8.9
144.5
-
153.4
At 4 March2017
8.9
133.0
-
141.9
At 27 August2016
8.9
121.6
-
130.5
AssetsinthecourseofconstructionincludedinintangibleassetsatH1FY18total106.1m(H1FY17,69.3m),of
which100.4mrelatestotheFitfortheFutureproject(H1FY17,65.7m).Noamortisationischargedontheseassets
until they are available foruse.
InadditiontheGrouphasspendof16.7m(H1FY1716.7m)thatrelatestoF4Fassetswhicharenowinuseand
therefore beingamortised.
10. Property, plant andequipment
Additionstotangiblefixedassetsduringtheperiodof0.6m(H1FY17,2.7m)primarilyrelatetowarehousing.
Depreciationof2.8m(H1FY17,2.7m)waschargedduringtheperiod.
AssetsinthecourseofconstructionincludedinfixturesandequipmentatH1FY17total0.4m(H1FY17,0.9m),
andinlandandbuildingstotalnil(H1FY17,21.5m).Nodepreciationischargedontheseassetsuntiltheyare
available for commercialuse.
11. Trade and otherreceivables
02-Sep-17
27-Aug-16
04-Mar-17
m
m
m
Amount receivable for the sale of goods andservices
611.5
601.8
599.5
Allowance for doubtfuldebts
(62.8)
(76.4)
(64.7)
548.7
525.4
534.8
Other debtors andprepayments
45.9
36.3
40.6
594.6
561.7
575.4
Movement in the allowance for doubtfuldebts
Balance at the beginning of theperiod
64.7
97.6
97.6
Amounts charged to the incomestatement
54.3
55.1
113.5
Amounts writtenoff
(56.2)
(76.3)
(146.4)
Balance at the end of theperiod
62.8
76.4
64.7
12.Dividends
Thedirectorshavedeclaredandapprovedaninterimdividendof5.67pencepershare(H1FY175.67p).
Thiswillbepaidon12January2018toshareholdersontheregisteratthecloseofbusinesson13December2017.
DuringH1FY18dividendsof24.2mrelatingtoFY17werepaid.
13.Provisions
CustomerRedress
StoreClosures
Total
m
m
m
Balanceat27February2016
-
-
-
Provisionsmadeduringtheperiod
9.0
-
9.0
Provisionsusedduringtheperiod
(1.1)
-
(1.1)
Provisionsreversedthroughtheperiod
-
-
-
Balanceat26August2016
7.9
-
7.9
Provisionsmadeduringtheperiod
13.9
-
13.9
Provisionsusedduringtheperiod
(1.9)
-
(1.9)
Provisionsreversedthroughtheperiod
-
-
-
Balance at 4 March2017
19.9
-
19.9
Provisionsmadeduringtheperiod
40.0
13.8
53.8
Provisionsusedduringtheperiod
(6.5)
(0.3)
(6.8)
Provisionsreversedthroughtheperiod
-
-
-
Balanceat2September2017
53.4
13.5
66.9
NonCurrent
25.0
4.7
29.7
Current
28.4
8.8
37.2
Balanceat2September2017
53.4
13.5
66.9
StoreClosures
Duringtheperiod,thedecisionwasmadetoclosefivelossmakingstoresandtheseweresubsequentlyclosedinAugust2017.
Thecostshavebeentreatedasanexceptionalitemanddetailedseparatelyontheincomestatementaspernote5.Theprovisionis
madeinrespectofonerousleaseobligationsandotherrelatedstoreclosurecosts.Itisexpectedthatthemajorityofthesecostswill
havebeensettledbytheyearendotherthantheonerousleaseprovisionwhichwillruntotheearlierofthebreakclauseorleaseexpiry
forallfivestores.Theprovisionisnetofanestimateofpotentialsub-lettingincome.
Customerredress
TheprovisionrelatestotheGroup'sliabilitiesinrespectofcostsexpectedtobeincurredinrespectofpaymentsforhistoric
financialservicescustomerredress,whichrepresentsthebestestimateoftheknownregulatoryobligations,takinginto
accountfactorsincludingriskanduncertainty.
Asat2September2017theGroupholdsaprovisionof53.4m(H1FY17,7.9m)inrespectoftheanticipatedcostsof
historicfinancialservicescustomerredress.Ofthisamount40mrelatestocertaininsuranceproductswheremanagement
haveidentifiedflawsintheproductdesign,theremaining13.4mrelatestohistoricalcustomerredress.Theseamountsinclude
aprovisionof2.1minrelationtoadministrationexpenses.
Therearestillanumberofuncertaintiesastotheeventualcustomerredresscosts,inparticularthetotalnumberofclaims
andthecostperclaim,howevertheDirectorsbelievethattheamountsprovidedatthehalfyearend,basedonhistorical
andforecastedclaimratesandamounts,alongwithknownlegalandregulatoryobligations,appropriatelyreflectthecost
to theGroup.
Theprincipalsensitivitiesinthecustomerredresscalculationare:volumesofpoliciesaffected,claimrate,upholdrate
and average redressamount.
26 weeksto
26 weeksto
53 weeksto
02-Sep-17
27-Aug-16
04-Mar-17
m
m
m
+/- 10% in claimsvolumes
+/-0.7
+/-0.4
+/-0.7
+/- 5% in upholdrate
+/-0.5
+/-0.3
+/-0.5
+/-10%inaverageredressamount
+/-0.7
+/-0.4
+/-0.7
Responsibility statement of the directors in respect of the half-yearly financial report
We confirm that to the best of our knowledge:
 the condensed set of financial statements has been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting asadopted
by theEU
 the interim management report includes a fair review of the information requiredby:
(a) DTR 4.2.7R of the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, being an indication of important events that have occurred
during the first 26 weeks of the financial year and their impact on the condensed set of financial statements; and a description of
the principal risks and uncertainties for the remaining 26 weeks of the year;and
(b) DTR 4.2.8R of the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, being related party transactions that have taken place in the
first 26 weeks of the current financial year and that have materially affected the financial position or performance of the
entity during that period; and any changes in the related party transactions described in the last annual report that could do so.
This report was approved by the Board of Directors on 12 October 2017.
AngelaSpindler
CraigLovelace
ChiefExecutive
Chief FinancialOfficer
Independent review report to N Brown Group plc
Conclusion
Wehavebeenengagedbythecompanytoreviewthecondensedsetoffinancialstatementsinthehalf-yearlyfinancialreportforthe26weeksended2September2017whichcomprisesthecondensedconsolidatedincomestatement,thecondensedconsolidatedstatementofcomprehensiveincome,thecondensedconsolidatedbalancesheet,thecondensedconsolidatedcashflowstatement,thecondensedconsolidatedstatementofchangesinequityandrelatedexplanatorynotes.
Basedonourreview,nothinghascometoourattentionthatcausesustobelievethatthecondensedsetoffinancialstatementsinthehalf-yearlyfinancialreportforthe26weeksended2September2017isnotprepared,inallmaterialrespects,inaccordancewithIAS34InterimFinancialReportingasadoptedbytheEUandtheDisclosureGuidanceandTransparencyRules("theDTR")oftheUK'sFinancialConductAuthority("theUKFCA").
Scope ofreview
WeconductedourreviewinaccordancewithInternationalStandardonReviewEngagements(UKandIreland)2410ReviewofInterimFinancialInformationPerformedbytheIndependentAuditoroftheEntityissuedbytheAuditingPracticesBoardforuseintheUK.Areviewofinterimfinancialinformationconsistsofmakingenquiries,primarilyofpersonsresponsibleforfinancialandaccountingmatters,andapplyinganalyticalandotherreviewprocedures.Wereadtheotherinformationcontainedinthehalf-yearlyfinancialreportandconsiderwhetheritcontainsanyapparentmisstatementsormaterialinconsistencieswiththeinformationinthecondensedsetoffinancialstatements.
AreviewissubstantiallylessinscopethananauditconductedinaccordancewithInternationalStandardsonAuditing(UK)andconsequentlydoesnotenableustoobtainassurancethatwewouldbecomeawareofallsignificantmattersthatmightbeidentifiedin an audit. Accordingly, we do not express an auditopinion.
Directors'responsibilities
Thehalf-yearlyfinancialreportistheresponsibilityof,andhasbeenapprovedby,thedirectors.Thedirectorsareresponsibleforpreparingthehalf-yearlyfinancialreportinaccordancewiththeDTRoftheUKFCA
Asdisclosedinnote1,theannualfinancialstatementsofthegrouparepreparedinaccordancewithInternationalFinancialReportingStandardsasadoptedbytheEU.Thedirectorsareresponsibleforpreparingthecondensedsetoffinancialstatementsincludedinthehalf-yearlyfinancialreportinaccordancewithIAS34asadoptedbytheEU.
Ourresponsibility
Ourresponsibilityistoexpresstothecompanyaconclusiononthecondensedsetoffinancialstatementsinthehalf-yearlyfinancialreportbasedonourreview.
Thepurposeofourreviewworkandwhomweoweourresponsibilities
ThisreportismadesolelytothecompanyinaccordancewiththetermsofourengagementtoassistthecompanyinmeetingtherequirementsoftheDTRoftheUKFCA.Ourreviewhasbeenundertakensothatwemightstatetothecompanythosematterswearerequiredtostatetoitinthisreportandfornootherpurpose.Tothefullestextentpermittedbylaw,wedonotacceptorassumeresponsibilitytoanyoneotherthanthecompanyforourreviewwork,forthisreport,orfortheconclusionswehavereached.
StuartBurdass
for and behalf of KPMGLLP
CharteredAccountants
1 St Peter'sSquare
Manchester
M23AE
12 October2017

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