At last year’s annual general meeting, it was established by Noni B chairman Lynn Wood that it was a difficult year last year and this year is expected to be no different.

“Last year’s challenging business conditions are continuing in the current year, there is still substantial discounting in our market and we are having to fight for every dollar,” she says.

Wood also noted its summer fashion has been well received. But first half results will depend on their critical pre-Christmas period.

In 2011-12, Noni B reported a $2.7 million net profit. Meanwhile, sales revenue was up 2 per cent to $119.7 million.

The company attributed these results to continually refining and reviewing operations, improving systems, fine-tuning the store network, managing margins and costs, and re-allocating expenditure to customer-facing activities.

“While we wait for consumer sentiment to improve, we remain focused on efficient management for everything we can control,” Wood says.