Profits at Body Shop International have showed a 76 per cent increase after management spent a year restructuring the business.
The group, famous for its environmentally-friendly stance, said it had successfully strengthened its operational structure, improving areas such as product development, marketing and distribution.
The lift in bottom-line pre-tax profits to £20.4 million sterling came despite a tough time for sales, with the like-for-like figure down 1 per cent. Total sales were up 2 per cent to £697.1 million in the year to March 1st.
Body Shop, which has more than 300 outlets in Britain and Ireland, has been battling to improve its fortunes after profits and sales came under pressure because of rivals developing similar products.
The company issued three profits warnings in the space of 18 months prior to a management reshuffle early last year.
Chief executive Mr Peter Saunders, who took the helm in February 2002, said he was pleased with progress so far.
Mr Saunders said that trading since the turn of the financial year had been satisfactory: "Our plans for the year are conservative, with a tight control on costs, and overall we expect to achieve a modest improvement in performance.