SOUTH coast fashion chain New Look hit another milestone on its path to recovery by forecasting better than expected full-year figures.

The high street retailer said a strong second half performance in the UK and France would leave annual pre-tax profits at not less than £56m.

City analysts had been forecasting a figure of around £51m for the year to March 23.

New Look, which has 480 UK stores and is based in Dorset, launched an overhaul of its business last June after seeing sales and profits come under pressure.

It focused on larger stores and gave a facelift to many other outlets, while taking steps to improve the supply chain and the quality of clothes.

A buoyant retail market has also helped as total sales for the ten weeks to March 23 showed a 15.1 per cent increase on a year earlier.

The like-for-like sales figure for the same period was 8.3 per cent higher, while gross margins were nearly nine percentage points higher.

The latest trading update comes after a strong Christmas trading period when like-for-like business in the eight weeks to January 12 picked up 8.8 per cent.

The improved performance by the Weymouth-based group means that pre-tax profits should be nearly double the figure recorded last year.

In the year to March 24 2001, profits were £30.6m after falling from £46.7m a year earlier.

New Look's annual results are due to be published on May 28 and will include a 53rd week to March 30.

That is likely to add another £4.5m to pre-tax profits because of the inclusion of the Easter trading period.