Brand Architekts Group PLC on Monday said its annual loss narrowed despite a fall in revenue, resulting from the resolution of last year’s impairment costs.

The London-based beauty sector challenger brand business narrowed its pretax loss for the financial year that ended June 30 to £1.4 million from £6.8 million the year before. This was due primarily to the £3.5 million in impairment costs for the company’s Innovaderma brand acquisition the year before not being repeated.

The impairment costs last year also involved legal fees of £700,000 and restructuring costs of £400,000.

Revenue fell 15% to £17.0 million from £20.1 million during the year, driven by a planned brand rationalisation programme and ‘challenging trading conditions’, involving the cost-of-living crisis and an ‘unseasonably wet’ spring and early summer.

The company declared no annual dividend, unchanged from last year.

Chief Executive Officer Quentin Higham said: ‘The group made good progress in rationalising its portfolio, whilst improving margins and significantly reducing its underlying operating losses. We expect to grow our brands through increased consumer awareness, investment in customer acquisition campaigns; product productivity; an extensive [new product development] pipeline planned for the second half; the repositioning of Skinny Tan as Skin & Tan and international expansion. We will continue to focus on brand contribution and a further release of working capital tied up in harvest brands. We remain confident that the foundations we are building will enable us to return to profitability and achieve our medium and long-term goals.’

Shares in Brand Architekts were down 1.2% at 25.20 pence each in London on Monday afternoon.

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