Ethical cosmetics specialist Body Shop put the rest of the retail sector in the shade after surprising investors with buoyant sales and profits figures.

The Littlehampton-based company, which has restored fortunes with a rebranding based on a Made With Passion logo, posted strong sales for the last nine weeks, including a nine per cent same-store rise in the UK.

It also pledged to expand into new regions and make further progress on a £100 million project to open more stores and refurbish others. It has more than 2,000 sites, including 300 in the UK and Ireland.

Body Shop's performance provided some cheer for the retail sector after a profits warning on Wednesday from B&Q owner Kingfisher led shares in the sector down 3.5 per cent in a session dubbed Black Wednesday by one City analyst.

In yesterday's results, Body Shop posted profits of £34.5 million, up 21 per cent on a year earlier, and said recent sales meant it was confident of operating profit growth of between 15 and 20 per cent.

Body Shop said progress in the UK and Ireland had been "particularly significant" with the negative sales trend of the previous year improving to flat in the 12 months to February 26.

New product launches, a strong Christmas gift range and improved customer services were cited by management for the improvement, which lifted operating profits from the division up by 17 per cent to £11.7 million.

The company's three other operating divisions also managed growth, with overall sales up five per cent to £708.7 million in the year.

Asia Pacific produced the strongest performance as gains in South-East Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan helped lift sales by 12 per cent and operating profits by six per cent to £19.7 million.

The company is planning expansion into Russia and China and will develop Body Shop At Home parties.

Friday April 29 2005