(Reuters) - Warehouse and freight provider Wincanton Plc (>> Wincanton plc) reported a 2 percent dip in revenue as demand from the UK retail sector continued to remain sluggish.

The company, which caters to clients such as Unilever Plc (>> Unilever plc), Tesco (>> Tesco PLC) and Marks & Spencer (>> Marks and Spencer Group Plc), said sales fell to 542.3 million pounds ($872 million) in the six months ended September 30 from 551.2 million pounds a year earlier.

Pretax profit rose about 28 percent to 9.7 million pounds during the six-month period.

Revenue from the retail sector, which accounts for about 60 percent of its business, was flat during the period and it did not expect an improvement in the industry this year, Chief Executive Eric Born said on a call.

However, the company said it won contracts from Valero and Tilda Rice during the period and expected to continue trading in line with market expectations.

Wincanton, which has been grappling with high levels of debt, said it reduced net debt by about 29 percent to 87.2 million pounds.

Shares in the company were unchanged at 130 pence at 0841 GMT on the London Stock Exchange on Thursday.

(Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bangalore; Editing by Supriya Kurane and Gopakumar Warrier)