Topps Tiles reported record sales in the last three months of 2020 – before being hit by the most recent Covid restrictions.
The tile specialist said sales were up a fifth in October, November and December, compared to the same period in 2019.
However the lockdown at the start of 2021 saw sales plummet 17.3 per cent compared to a year earlier, despite a strong digital performance.
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In a trading update the business said it was in a strong position and was repaying £1 million of furlough payments, claimed during the most recent lockdown.
It has also repaid £5 million that was borrowed under the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Local Scheme and cancelled another unused £5 million facility from the same scheme.
Topps said: “During the period, we accessed a small amount of support through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).
“As a result of the group’s overall performance in the first half, the outlook for trading and the strength of the group’s financial position, we will be repaying this in the second half.”
Shares in the business were up more than 4 per cent this morning and 73.2p – pretty much double what they were a year ago.
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The general economic downturn meant commercial sales were down 10 per cent for the half year, though sales in sectors outside hospitality and leisure were up a third.
Store closures meant homeowners – who represent almost half the group’s customer base – weren’t able to enter stores for three months.
The retailer, which is based in Leicestershire, said all-in-all it meant sales for the total six months were down almost 3 per cent at £103.2 million.
Pre-tax profits for the half year stood at £4 million, compared to losses of £3.2 million a year earlier.
Stores re-opened to all customers on April 12 and sales and margins were now recovering strongly, the business said, and were well up on the equivalent period in 2019 before the pandemic.
Topps Tiles chief executive Rob Parker said the store estate had gone from 343 to 331 and would probably go down to 300 in the next couple of years.
He said: “In another reporting period dominated by the impacts of Covid-19, Topps has once again shown its flexibility and resilience and I would like to thank all colleagues across the group for the continued hard work and commitment underpinning these results.
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“Inevitably, our first half results reflect two sharply contrasting periods of trading.
“An exceptionally strong performance in the first quarter demonstrated the ability of the business to bounce back following the initial lockdown.
"Our performance in the second quarter, while materially stronger than in the first lockdown, was heavily impacted by the re-imposition of Covid-related trading restrictions at the start of the period.
“The re-opening of our stores to all customers on April 12, has once again been received very positively and we have seen a strong recovery in sales and gross margins, with retail like-for-like sales 16.8 per cent ahead of the same period in 2019 in the five weeks since re-opening.
“We are confident of a much-improved performance in the second half and believe the group remains well positioned to take advantage of an expected increase in consumer spending as we focus on our market share goal of ‘1 in 5 by 2025’.”
Topps, which started trading in 1963, has four commercial showrooms and three trading websites.