Ted Baker plc says its revenue tanked 47% in the fourth quarter.

Ted Baker plc (LON: TED) said on Thursday that trading took a significant hit in the fiscal fourth quarter due to a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the United Kingdom. The Coronavirus pandemic has so far infected more than 3.9 million people in the UK and caused over 114 thousand deaths. The company also warned of higher Brexit-related costs on Thursday.

Ted Baker was reported about 2.5% down in premarket trading on Thursday and lost another 5% on market open. The stock is now trading at a per-share price of 96.95 pence versus a low of 66 pence per share in July 2020.

Group e-commerce sales slid 1% in the fourth quarter

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Ted Baker said that its revenue saw a 47% decline on a year over year basis in the fourth quarter. In the 13 weeks that concluded on 30^th January, retail sales, as per the luxury clothing retail company, also tanked 47% as the ongoing health emergency pushed its stores into temporarily shutting down for the public again.

The London-based firm reported a significant decline in footfall due to the pandemic in recent months but posted a 2% growth in directly operated eCommerce sales. Group eCommerce sales as a whole slid 1% in the fourth quarter and made up 63% of the company’s total retail sales versus 33% only last year.  

In an earlier report published in the first week of December, Ted Baker said that its pre-tax loss widened in the fiscal first half due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

Ted Baker expresses confidence in the strength of its balance sheet

The retailer, however, expressed confidence in the strength of its balance sheet and said that its cash position was sufficient to cushion the economic blow in the upcoming months. According to Ted Baker:

“Following the trade agreement between the UK and EU signed in late December 2020, the group anticipated up to £5 million of incremental costs associated with Brexit, reflecting extra duty and shipping costs partially offset by a new customs warehouse capability.”

In separate news from the United Kingdom, Financial Times said on Wednesday that contract foodservice company, SSP Group, was planning on raising up to £500 million from shareholders.

Ted Baker performed largely downbeat in the stock market last year with an annual decline of close to 65%. At the time of writing, the British luxury clothing retail company has a market capitalisation of around £183 million.