Shares in Leicestershire’s Topps Tiles took a hammering this morning on the back of a big drop in sales.
The retailer’s share value was down almost a quarter at around 60p after it said sales for the past couple of months were down 5 per cent year-on-year.
It said that as a result profits for would be “significantly” down on previous expectations.
The business, which has its headquarters in Enderby, near Leicester, said market conditions had been tough against a backdrop of “continued weak home improvement spending”.
Like-for-like sales in the eight weeks to February 22 were down 5.5 per cent compared to the same point last year.
It comes as the FTSE 100 continues to take a battering on the back of fears over the spread of the coronavirus and its impact on the world economy.
Today Topps Tiles chief executive Rob Parker said: “Trading conditions in our second quarter have remained challenging, reflecting continued weakness in home improvement spending.
“Against this backdrop we are taking appropriate action to ensure we remain competitive, to reduce costs and to strengthen cash flows.
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“While 海角视频 housing market indicators have shown an encouraging improvement in the period since the General Election, these traditionally have a lagged impact on our trading and we would not expect to see any benefit from these until later into the second half – our performance during this period will be key to the outcome for the year as a whole.
“We remain confident that our market-leading retail offer and recently established commercial operations give us a strong platform from which to deliver sustainable growth over the medium and long term.”
Topps Tiles’ sales were up 1.1 per cent to £219.2 million in the year to the end of September, while pre-tax profits were down 1.6 per cent to £12.5 million.
However sales in the two months prior to election had been down around 5 per cent.
The business has 362 stores.
Today’s trading update said: “With most of the period complete, the group now expects that first half profit will be significantly below the prior year level.
“As a result, management expect adjusted profit before tax for the 53 weeks ended October 3, 2020, will be materially below the bottom end of the current range of market expectations.
“The group remains cash generative and, in light of current trading conditions, has further strengthened its focus on costs and cash management.”