Laura Ashley sinks into red

THE Irish arm of fashion and home furnishings retailer Laura Ashley last year went into the red with after tax losses of €1.27m.

Accounts just filed with the Companies Registration Office show that revenues at Laura Ashley (Ireland) Ltd in the 12 months to the end of January dipped by 24% from €13m to €9.8m.

The loss of €1.2m last year compares to an after-tax profit of €413,208 to the end of January 2009.

The directors of the Dublin-based company state: “Turnover for the year has decreased due to declining market conditions. The directors consider that the state of the affairs of the company is satisfactory and that the company can continue as a going concern for the foreseeable future based on the secured sales and prospects for the next 12 months.”

The filings show that the UK-owned company sustained a pre-tax loss of €778,291 last year following the company recording a pre-tax profit of €550,225 in 2008.

The company had retained earnings of €4.1m at the end of January last and had cash of €683,990.

The figures show that operating losses last year amounted to €877,936, compared to an operating profit of €84,965 in 2008.

Numbers employed at Laura Ashley reduced from 80 to 65 with staff costs cut from €2.3m to €1.9m.

The numbers employed by the company were hit further in October of this year with the company closing down its most prestigious Irish location at Dublin’s Grafton Street after deciding to sub-let it to the Disney Corporation.

The company stated last month that it will continue to review other central Dublin locations with a view to opening another store when a suitable site becomes available.