Mosaic Brands (ASX:MOZ) did not see the same Christmas cheer that other retailers did.

The womens fashion retailer, until last year known as Noni B, witnessed an 8 per cent drop in sales in the second half of November and December.

It blamed the bushfires, noting 20 per cent of stores were in impacted areas and 32 per cent were in regional areas where confidence was fragile.

However, the picture was not all bleak. Mosaic still expected $33m in earnings which is 13 per cent more than the first half of last financial year.

It also boasted that its gross margin had risen from 56 per cent to 59 per cent.

Despite the news, the company said it was well prepared for the second half of the financial year noting it had a dedicated team, excellent products and a healthy stock position. It also predicted second half earnings would be better.

Shares dropped over 16 per cent at the market open and have dropped over 40 per cent since March.

 

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In other ASX corporate news today:

Three months since Roto-Gro (ASX:RGI) filed a lawsuit against Canadian cannabis company RavenQuest for patent infringement, the latter made its statement of defence this week. Roto-Gro told shareholders it was still confident in its case.

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