Fashion group N Brown has issued a warning after revealing it made pre-tax losses of over £70m during its latest financial year.
The Manchester-headquartered company has posted statutory losses of £71.1m for the 12 months to March 4, 2023, compared to a profit of £19.2m in the prior year.
N Brown's revenue also fell from £715.7m to £677.5m over the same period.
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In a statement issued to the London Stock Exchange, the company's chief executive Steve Johnson said N Brown is "expecting the weaker consumer confidence to continue weighing on our performance before we see a return to growth and are therefore keeping a tight control of costs".
However, he added that the company remains "confident in our strategy and are more focused than ever on the transformational priorities".
In January, N Brown revealed it was to pay nearly £50m to settle a claim from Allianz Insurance.
The dispute related to "significant amounts of redress" paid to customers by JD Williams and the insurer "in respect of certain historic insurance products", including payment protection insurance.
Mr Johnson said: "We have remained adaptable to the trading environment which became more challenging during the year, as inflation impacted both our customers and our cost base.
"Although volumes softened, we maintained a disciplined approach to trading, with a particular focus on upholding margin despite a promotional backdrop.
"We continued to make strategic progress despite these challenges, increasing investment during the year, and we successfully launched our new mobile-first website for Simply Be.
"I would like to thank every single one of our colleagues for their role in achieving this progress, through their commitment to serving our customers and supporting our vision of championing inclusion.
"We are expecting the weaker consumer confidence to continue weighing on our performance before we see a return to growth and are therefore keeping a tight control of costs.
"We remain confident in our strategy and are more focused than ever on the transformational priorities which will deliver the biggest benefits, including new websites for Jacamo and JD Williams, and the delivery of our new financial services platform."
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