Outdoor clothing retailer Kathmandu has lost a quarter of its market value after a warning of a first half loss saw its shares tumble.
The New Zealand-based retailer on Monday warned it would report a net loss of between $NZ1 million and $NZ2 million ($A940,000-$A1.87 million) for the six months to January 25, down from $NZ11.4 million profit the same time last year.
Meanwhile, pre-tax earnings fell more than 95 per cent from $NZ17.6 million last year to less than $NZ800,000.
Its shares closed the session down 51.5 cents, or 27.54 per cent, at $1.355.
Kathmandu attributed the profit slide to disappointing sales of summer clothes and reduced demand for cold weather apparel in New Zealand due to warmer and drier weather after Christmas, as well as heavy price discounting to clear excess stock.
Total sales were up 6.9 per cent to $NZ179 million during the half, which was less than the company has forecast.
And same-store sales fell in Australia during December and January and were down in New Zealand in the weeks following Boxing Day.
Kathmandu has not provided full year earnings guidance and chief executive Mark Todd said the company traditionally earned most of its profit during the second half, which includes the winter months.
"Successful execution of our key sales promotions in Easter and winter are core to our overall earnings performance for the full year," he said.
"June and July, the last two months of the financial year, are the company's most significant and historically most profitable trading period, and it is too early to assess a potential outcome from trading at that time."
The company will release its first half profit on March 24.
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