Mothercare suffers due to cost of Early Learning Centre integration

Mothercare, which specialises in products for mums-to-be, has reported a 76% fall in pre-tax profit to $4.5 million.

The fall is primarily due to the cost of bringing the Early Learning Centre chain into the fold, which it acquired in April 2007 for £85 million.

However, the Early Learning Centre acquisition did improve annual sales by nearly 36% to £677 million last June.

Excluding the cost of integrating the Early Learning Centre business, underlying group profit increased 70% to £39 million.

TV presenter Myleene Klass is to promote a new clothing range called Baby K which will be available in stores at the end of August.

The new range will include bodysuits, pinafore sets, dungarees and accessories for newborns up to three years.

Mothercare said it was cautious about UK consumer sentiment and is hoping overseas expansion and the growth of its online business to improve profits.

Mothercare has 225 UK outlets and 210 Early Learning Centre shops and has 500 stores overseas. It is planning to open new stores in countries with fast-growing economies including China, India and Russia.

Mothercare now has a sister website called gurgle.com.

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