Shoe Zone PLC on Tuesday said it expects to report an annual earnings rise, with investments in its digital platform paying off and trading in the ‘key back to school period’ positive.

Shoe Zone shares were 7.1% higher at 227.50 pence each in London on Tuesday morning.

For the year to September 30, the footwear retailer expects to report a 6.1% revenue increase to £165.7 million from £156.2 million.

‘The 6.1% increase is due to strong second half trading particularly in peak summer and our key back to school period, and this is trading out of 37 fewer stores than last year,’ Shoe Zone explained.

Digital revenue alone rose 17% to £30.9 million from £26.4 million.

Adjusted pretax profit is expected to be no less than £16.0 million, up some 43% from £11.2 million. Its product margin also improved, spiking to 62.1% from 61.2%.

The Leicester-based firm said it expects to declare a final dividend in January, alongside annual results. It had declared a final dividend of 3.3p per share in financial 2022.

Its interim dividend for the year just ended amounted to 2.5p per share, unchanged from a year prior.

Chief Executive Anthony Smith said: ‘Shoe Zone continues to show how resilient it is, with a proven track record of delivering robust results during times of economic uncertainty.’

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