Clarks shoes see £100m profit due to 'overseas sales'

Somerset-based shoe retailer Clarks has seen its profits exceed £100m for the first time.

A report released on Monday revealed that the retailer, based in Street, saw pre-tax profits rise by 28% following a 9% sales increase.

The report showed a boost in overseas sales helped offset poor UK sales.

The company saw a 19% rise in sales in the US, as well as selling nearly a fifth more pairs of shoes in China in 2010 compared to the previous year.

Despite the report's successful findings Peter Davies, chairman at Clarks shoes, is remaining cautious.

He said: "In many of our markets, the consumer is facing significant challenges as governments struggle to tackle their budget deficits with tax increases and cuts in public expenditure."

The group predicted it could be two to three years before it saw a sustained improvement to sales in the UK.

The shoe company, which is still three quarters owned by the Clark family, was launched in 1825 when James Clark made a pair of slippers out of sheepskin from his brother's tannery.