Debenhams blames snow for profit warning Debenhams warned on Monday that disruption from snow in January would lead to a fall in first-half profits. The department store chain said in a trading update that during the snow-affected period from 14 to 27 January, UK like-for-like sales fell about 10 per cent, compared with a rise of 3 per cent for the whole of the first half. In an attempt to recover sales lost due to the snow, the group launched sales promotions in February focused on Valentine's day, half-term and the end of the month. However, the sales generated were unable to make up for the previous decline and were "mainly in lower margin clearance lines," meaning that gross margin for the first half will be about 20 basis points lower than last year. Gross margin for the full year is now likely to be flat, Debenhams said, rather than the 10 basis points increase that it had previously forecast. The group now expects that profit before tax for the six months to March 2 will be around £120m, down from £127.1m for the same period last year. Michael Sharp, chief executive, said: "Whilst the impact of the snow on the outcome for the first half is disappointing, it is now behind us and sales volumes have recovered. We are confident in our spring/summer ranges and that we can grow sales in the second half. Debenhams will report its first-half results on April 18. Shares in Debenhams were 9.9 per cent down at 85.7p in early trading in London.