French Connection's same-store sales back in growth

Same-store sales at British fashion retailer French Connection Group Plc returned to growth in the first half of its financial year, buoyed by a strong performance of its Spring collection.

The company said on Tuesday like-for-like sales in the UK and Europe, regions which accounted for 74 percent of group sales last year, rose 6.5 percent in the six months ended July 31. They fell 10.7 percent in the same period last year.

Total revenue, however, fell 8.7 percent to 69.2 million pounds ($90.4 million) following the closure of some stores, and the company reported a pretax loss of 7.9 million pounds, unchanged from the same period last year.

After the huge success of its FCUK logo, which helped drive its shares to more than 5 pounds apiece in 2004, French Connection has struggling in recent years amid competition from cheaper, fast-fashion rivals such as Zara, ASOS and Forever 21.

It has not reported an annual pretax profit since the year ended Jan. 31, 2012, and the stock is down more than 90 percent from its 2004 highs.

$1 = 0.7675 pounds