Topps Tiles forecasts lower profits after weak demand
Tile retailer Topps Tiles said it expects to post a 23.2% fall in its half year underlying pre-tax profits following weaker than expected demand for its products.
For the 26 weeks to 30 March 2013, underlying pre-tax profits are now forecast to be around £4.3 million compared with £5.6 million in the same period last year.
While total revenues for the half year will be around £87.4 million, up 0.9% year-on-year, like-for-like sales are expected to fall by around 0.3%.
In a statement Topps said: “Against a background of weaker than expected demand, a number of cost reduction initiatives have been implemented and, when taken into account, management expect that full year adjusted profit before tax will be within the current range of market expectations.”
Never Miss a Retail Update!Topps, which currently trades from 320 stores, added that it is continuing to make “significant” investments across the business as part of its strategy to grow market share.
The current range of market expectations for underlying pre-tax profit for the year to 28 September 2013 is between £13.3 million and £13.8 million.
