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Mothercare has reported a £102.9m loss on a tumultuous year which saw many of its UK stores face closure, its share price plummet and its chief executive replaced.
Although underlying profit came for the 53 weeks to March 31 came in at £1.6m, the figure was a tiny fraction of that reported a year ago, and the retailer faced a one-off exceptional charge of £104.4m on top as part of its restructuring plan.
The baby-and-mother focused firm saw UK sales fall by nearly 5% over the year as competition from supermarkets and online retailers increased, but its performance overseas continued to thrive.
Although Mothercare has previously said it will further reduce the number of shops in Britain, it has announced it will accelerate international expansion by rapidly growing its store presence in the BRIC nations - Brazil, Russia, India and China, in a bid to grow international sales by 20% per year.
British firms are depending increasingly more on international sales, both on the high street and online, for their profits.
At Asos, the internet-based clothing firm aimed at 16 to 34-year-old women, overall retail sales rose 49% boosted by a doubling in sales abroad to £284m.
International retail sales accounted for 59% of the total and the company launched new websites in Italy, Spain and Australia but ships to 190 countries from its new 530,000 sq ft warehouse in Barnsley.
Last year UK retail sales rose 25%, but growth in its home market this year slowed to 7%.
The company announced a 93% rise in profit before tax rose to £30.3m, compared to £15.7m the previous year.
Even drinks-maker SABMiller saw the driving factor behind its 11% group revenue growth to be based in the emerging markets.
Latin America and Africa both saw reported growth of 15% as Europe's declined by 6%.
The brewer behind the Grolsch and Peroni brands reported an adjusted profit before tax of £3.2bn in the 12 months to March 31 - a rise of 13% year-on-year.
