Alexon, the women’s clothing retailer that owns six brands, including Ann Harvey and Kaliko, on Wednesday scrapped its dividend after reporting a slump in profits over the past six months.

The company announced a fall in pre-tax profits from £6.9m to £900,000, which became an £8.1m ($12.9m) loss after writing off the cost of exiting leases on its Bay Trading stores, which it put into administration earlier this year. Comparable sales were 12.6 per cent lower, while total sales fell nearly £10m to £77.7m