ALY.L Share News (ALY)

Furniture and clothing retailer Laura Ashley said customer confidence is returning but is tempered with a degree of caution as it posted a 3% rise in full year group sales.Total group sales rose to £268.4m for the 52 weeks to 30 January from £260.5m the same time a year before. Total UK retail sales were up 3.6% to £243.6m while like-for-like sales advanced 3.5%. Pre-tax profit rose 7.8% to £11.0m. This includes a £6.0m negative currency impact due to the weakness of Sterling, Laura Ashley explained. Laura Ashley said it is confident that its strong balance sheet, strong brand and distinctive product offering will provide a platform for continued growth in 2010."For the 8 weeks to 27 March 2010, total UK retail sales increased by 5.6%. For the same period, like-for-like UK retail sales improved by 4.6%. Franchise revenues fell by 5.6% to £19.4m as the global economic downturn continues to hit retailers. Licensing income increased 1.0% to £3.1m. A final dividend of 0.75p per share has been proposed, making the total dividend of 1p, down from 1.25p the previous year.