Game Group, specialist in video games, registered record full-year profits, while Thorontons reported jump in third-quarter figures, giving boost to expectations that retail sector is now on the path to recovery.
Game Group, with 1,342 Gamestation and Game stores located in 10 countries, recorded 75% jump in pre-tax profits to £119.6 million during 53 weeks ending 31 January 2009. The impressive performance is credited to purchasing efficiencies of the Gamestation acquired last year.
Increase in Game’s total sales was 32.2% to £1.97 billion, as women, families and over-35s had been flocking in large numbers to purchase software games, including Grand Theft Auto IV and Wii-fit. According to the chief executive, Lisa Morgan, of Game Group, collapse of Woolworths and Zavvi, retailers in entertainment, also provided stimulus for growth.
However there was decline of 6.3% in Game’s underlying sales during last 11 weeks. Its gross margins showed improvement of 150 basis driven by software products of higher margins in the sales mix.
Chocolate retailer Thorntons’s own-store sales are also up by 9.3% to £35.3 million, with increase of 3.3% in like-for-like sales during last 14 weeks. Total sales, including multi-channel, franchise and commercial units, increased by 11.7% to £58.6 million and full-year pre-tax profits are expected to be around £5 million.
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