SuperGroup gets a warm glow from cold snap

The chief executive of SuperGroup says the fashion retailer is "well-positioned" for the crucial Christmas trading period, having been boosted by the "helpful" recent cold weather.

Julian Dunkerton's tone was upbeat despite the Superdry brand owner posting a 32 per cent fall in half-year profits to £13.9m, after a write down in the value of its European business.

Following a 3.9 per cent rise in like-for-like UK sales over the half year, Mr Dunkerton said underlying sales had been in positive territory since the end of October.

He added that the high street would benefit from a full weekend of trading before Christmas Day, in contrast to 2011, when it fell on a Sunday.

However, shares in SuperGroup fell by 44.9p, or 7.5 per cent, to 551.6p, with analysts at Espirito Santo forecasting that expectations of £50m profits for 2013 are "too high".

SuperGroup, which floated at 500p in March 2010, delivered a 13.1 per cent rise in underlying profits to £14.7m over the six months to 28 October, stripping out exceptional items.

Mr Dunkerton said it had opened a "staggering" 93 stores globally during the last year, which helped lift total revenues by 16.2 per cent to £158.2m over the six months.