Upmarket retailer Joyce Boutique Holdings slumped into the red in the year to March 31 following heavy losses incurred during a restructuring programme.
The company suffered a $207.23 million attributable loss, following an exceptional loss of $122 million.
This compares with a profit attributable to shareholders of $30.2 million in the previous year.
As a result of a regional retail slump, the company was forced to make provisions and a write-off to cover the closure of stores in Thailand, the Philippines, South Korea and Hong Kong.
'1997-98 has seen Joyce undergo considerable setbacks. The year's losses can be largely attributed to a combination of the Asian economic meltdown, the downturn in local consumer spending and a sharp decline in tourist expenditure,' the company said.
The attributable loss stood at the high end of analysts' expectations.
Operating loss before exceptional items widened to $93.87 million from $12.35 million while turnover rose slightly to $1.11 billion from $1.06 billion.
