Shares digital

Land of Leather (LAN) - Interims PTP: £5.5m (£8.4m) Divi: n/a (3.6p)

We warned last week that figures from the furniture retailer would make bleak reading, and so it proved, with the numbers showing an underlying decline in sales of 15% in the first half. On top of this, net margins fell, and trading is so bad that the firm has warned profits will miss expectations, factors that also saw the dividend axed.

The retirement of Paul Briant this August, will either be a blessing or a disaster, depending on your view. The company expects to be only 'marginally' profitable in the second half, a real worry, while problems are piling up elsewhere, not least at its major concessionary tenant Sleep Depot, currently in the throes of financial restructuring.

Chances of the second half payout look threadbare.

Shares says: The immediate outlook is disappointing. There is further downside risk.

by: John Marshall