AKIPRESS.COM - Starbucks' turnover dropped last year for the first time, in the wake of revelations about its corporate tax practices.

Sales for the year to September 29 were 399 million Euro, a decline of 3.4% compared to the previous year.

The company said the decline, the first since it started UK operations 16 years ago, was due to the closure of unprofitable outlets and not the result of other reasons.

It reduced its average UK workforce by 11.6% in the financial year to 7,726.

Starbucks was able to increase its gross profit by 13% to £79.7 million, before deductions of £100.5m were taken into account.

Its pre-tax loss was 20.4 million in the period, down from the £30.4m recorded in the 2011-12 financial year.

The company's tax liability in the period was £3.4 million, but including deferred taxation was reduced to £2.25 million, NewsSky said.

It said the £10million fall in the pre-tax loss was largely due to the rise in gross profits. Its staff costs dropped £13.5 million in the tax year compared to the previous year.