Clintons profits rise 18%

For the 26 weeks ended Jan 27, 2008 pretax profit before special items rose to £24.38m from £20.62m last year. Revenue fell to £256.88m from £258m a year ago due to trading from 20 fewer stores. Like-for-like sales increased 2.0 pct from a total of 978 stores trading throughout both periods. Chairman Don Lewin said 'Trading on the high street remains challenging. However the Group's performance in the 26 weeks to 27 January gives the Board a degree of confidence for the remainder of the year as we continue to focus on product differentiation and improvements across both brands.'