Beale down on 'unprecedented' November

Beale, the department store chain, says retail sales in November saw "unprecedented" declines, which the group attributes to worries over the Eurozone affecting consumer behaviour.

Like-for-like sales in the 11 weeks to January 14th were 7.0% below the prior year. Gross sales, which include 19 newly acquired stores from the Anglia Regional Co-operative Society (ARCS), were up by 47.7%.

Over the full year pre-tax profits for the group were £0.54m versus a loss of £0.67m in 2010.

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Total revenues for the year were £62m, 27.6% up on 2010, although again the like-for-like figure is not as impressive, down 9.3%. Meanwhile, gross margins fell from 53.7% to 51.3%.

Beale's Chairman, Keith Edelman said the purchase of the ARCS stores "strengthened the balance sheet, helping to withstand an extremely adverse retail environment that currently persists."

The group's Chief Executive, Tony Brown, added: "We continue to review our cost base and to strive to realise the synergies from the integration."

Shares in Beale were down 10% in morning trading. Over the last 12 months the stock has declined 17%.

BS