Matalan sees H1 results slide

Discount retailer Matalan has posted disappointing first-half results due to difficult market conditions in the UK. Net sales for the period ended 26 August fell 1.8 percent while same-store sales dropped 6.4 percent. The slide did slow down to 3.4 percent during the last eight weeks of the period. The gross margin improved by approximately 1.2 percent.

"It has been well documented that the retail sector has suffered from difficult trading conditions," said Matalan. Earlier this month the company announced that it would cut about 300 jobs in order to cut costs.