Monsoon profits increase by 15%

Fashion retailer Monsoon posted a 15% rise in annual pre-tax profit yesterday on the back of an aggressive store expansion, and said strong sales of its summer ranges had given the new year a good start.

The firm posted pre-tax profit of €66.8 million (stg£44.1m) for the year to May 29 on a 17% rise in turnover to €411m (stg£271.4m).

The firm said delaying the summer sale by a week had hit like-for-like sales in the seven weeks to July 17, which were down five per cent from the same period last year.