Dr Martens Reports H1 Loss Due to Rising Costs and US Weakness
(Reuters) -Struggling bootmaker Dr Martens swung to a pretax loss in the first half on Thursday, as elevated costs and weakness in wholesale revenue, especially in the United States, weighed on its bottomline.
The company's performance since the start of the key autumn-winter season has been encouraging, with all three regions positive, Dr Martens said.
Dr Martens, whose chunky lace-up boots popularly known as "Docs" or "DMs" were originally made for workers before becoming a fashion statement since the 1960s, has been contending with a weak North American market and has put its bets on the festive season to shore up its sales and profits.
The company said it now expects cost savings of about 25 million pounds ($31.64 million) in fiscal year 2026, at the top of its previous forecast range.
Around two-thirds of those savings are from job cuts, it said, with the majority of the laid off staff leaving at the end of the first half.
The British company reported pretax loss of 28.7 million pounds for the six months ended Sept. 29, compared with a profit of 25.8 million pounds a year earlier.
($1 = 0.7902 pounds)
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
