Retail group, Specialty Fashion, has suffered a 64 per cent slide in half year profit due to problems with its recently acquired Rivers chain.

Specialty Fashion, which also owns the Millers and Katies brands, made a net profit of $5.85 million for the six months to December 31, down from $16.23 million a year ago.

The result was weighed down by an $11.2 million loss from Rivers, although the group said it remained confident in its turnaround strategy for the business.

Specialty Fashion will pay an interim, fully-franked, dividend of two cents per share, unchanged from a year ago.

AAP