Clothing entrepreneur Tarak Ramzan saw pre-tax profits at his Quiz empire tumble last year, as his Glasgow-based women's fashion chain incurred additional costs as it expanded globally.

Tarak Clothing Company trades as Quiz and describes its products as "high-fashion clothes for women that are up-to-the-minute, stylish and totally affordable".

Founder Ramzan, who operates the company with his brother, Khalid, could not be reached for comment last night.

However, the directors noted in the accounts, obtained by The Herald from Companies House, that the "company has planned to expand its business into foreign markets", and that during 2006 it opened outlets in Ireland, Dubai and Saudi Arabia.

The directors add: "The results shown by the management accounts are satisfactory and there is good indication of reasonable success."

However, a mix of lower sales and considerably higher administrative expenses connected to the increased number of outlets - now at 57 stores throughout the United Kingdom and Eire, including 24 in Scotland - hammered Tarak Clothing's bottom line.

The company reported pre-tax profits of £166,534 for the year to the end of November 2006, well down from the £774,868 in the previous 12 months.

Turnover declined to £23.3m during the year, against £23.5m last time.

However, the major contributor to the company's downturn was the surge in administrative expenses, which climbed to £14.3m, compared with £13.4m the year before.

The accounts note: "The administrative costs in the Middle East are considerably lower than what is required locally in Europe."

Today, the firm is understood to have about 30 staff engaged in making own-brand products at the Glasgow head office in Hydepark Street, and a further 415 in its shops.

The company's accounts listed its only directors as Tarak and Khalid Ramzan, the ambitious brothers whose father emigrated to Scotland from Pakistan with £5 in his pocket.

The company said it had already paid an interim dividend of £80,000 and did not recommend the payment of a final dividend. The dividend was down from £109,000 the previous year.

Meanwhile, pay for the two brothers, including pension contributions, plummeted to a combined total of £32,078, compared with £222,311 the year before. The package for the highest-paid director, assumed to be Tarak Ramzan, came in at £17,992, down from £109,902 last time.

The accounts also note that the company contributed £14,473 to charities.