Debenhams
PBT £88.9m Dividend 1.0p
Debenhams upset the market a few days into this year by saying that sales in the autumn had been hit by the cold weather. By all that’s decent, then, the retailer should be benefiting from the much better conditions in the spring as the new range goes on sale.
This period, though, is not covered by the half-year figures, which run to the end of February. The shares have traded at a discount to the general retailing sector because of its poor performance since the company arrived on the stock market in 2006 loaded with debt and the belief that department stores will struggle to compete with other retailers, such as the supermarkets and those online, supplying the same goods.