Shoe Zone shares rise after spring sales surpass expectations

High street retailer Shoe Zone has revealed that spring sales surpassed expectations after strong trade in recent weeks.

Shares in the company took a step in the right direction as a result, rising by more than 7% on Friday morning.

The discount shoe brand said sales since its previous update on May 16 have “exceeded expectations due to particularly strong recent trading through May and early June”.

The positive performance was partly driven by “strong early demand for summer products” as temperatures improved.

Shoe Zone also reported that profitability increased due to the effect of lower shipping container costs on the company’s margins.

It told shareholders that it now expects to deliver a pre-tax profit of at least £10.5 million for the year to October.

However, the group delivered a £13.6 million pre-tax profit for the previous financial year.

Last month, the retailer saw shares slide after it revealed that pre-tax profits were cut by more than half to £1.5 million for the half-year to April 1, from £3.1 million a year earlier.

The group had reported an 8% increase in revenues to £75.4 million for the period after a 6.8% rise in store revenues while digital sales were 12.7% higher.

Shares were 15.7p higher, or 7.5%, to 225.7p in early trading on Friday.