Laura Ashley reports 15 pct jump in first-half profit

Sept 5 (Reuters) - Fashion and homewares retailer Laura Ashley Holdings Plc reported a 14.9 percent rise in first-half pretax profit, helped by strong growth in online sales in the UK.

The company said pretax profit rose to 8.5 million pounds ($13.9 million) in the 26 weeks to July 26 from 7.4 million pounds a year earlier.

Total (NYSE: TOT - news) group sales rose 4.9 percent to 144 million pounds.

The retailer said e-commerce revenue rose 6.1 percent to 22.5 million pounds during the period.

The 61-year-old company, which is known for its feminine and floral designs, said like-for-like sales were up 8 percent in the five weeks to Aug. 30.

($1 = 0.6127 British Pounds) (Reporting by Roshni Menon and Aastha Agnihotri in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)