UK takes the shine off Signet's results

The UK arm of Signet suffered a slump in profits in its second quarter, as dire consumer spending took the shine off the retail jewellery group's US results. Its H Samuel, Ernest Jones and Leslie Davis chains in the UK posted operating income down by 40 per cent to $2.8m (£1.7m) for the second quarter to 30 July.

But this did not prevent the group, which operates the Kay Jewelers chain in the US, growing profits by 69 per cent to $102.3m. Mike Barnes, Signet's chief executive, said: "Our branded jewellery initiatives drove strong US sales performance and assisted our UK division's sales to outperform a challenging retail marketplace."