LONDON (ShareCast) - Womenswear clothing retailer Jacques Vert said results for the first half reflect a good performance in an extremely challenging retail environment.

Sales for the half-year rose 1.8% to £58.8m and were level on a like for like basis. Pre-tax profit came in at £2.6m compared with £12.8m in the same period last year.

Like for like sales fell by 2.2% in the 10 weeks since 27 October 2007 compared with the previous year mainly due to lower levels of markdown. As a result of the lower markdown, Gross margin for the 10 week period is 2.7% ahead of last year.

“Given the importance of trading in the final quarter to the group's result we continue to be cautious about the remainder of the year,” said the group.

“Nevertheless, this set of results reflects the continued improvement in the financial strength of the group, with strong growth in net assets and cash generation,” it added.

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