Carpetright reports ‘year of two halves’ as turnaround continues

The floorcoverings giant, which last year underwent a CVA, reported a statutory pre-tax loss of £24.8m in the year to April 27, down from £69.8m in 2018. Underlying EBITDA was £2.9m – which Carpetright said was in line with expectations – versus £7.1m the previous year.

Group revenue slid 13.4% to £386.4m during the year.

In Carpetright’s core UK market the first half was “challenging” as the CVA, including property restructuring, was implemented, and like-for-likes fell 12.7%. In the second half, the decline was limited to 5.4%.

UK like-for-likes in the first eight weeks of the new financial year rose 8.5%, compared with a 14.6% decline in the previous year.

Carpetright chief executive Wilf Walsh said: “2018/19 was a transitional year as we took tough but necessary action to address our legacy property issues and restructure the UK store estate. This difficult task was carried out against the backdrop of a challenging trading environment but was essential to put the business back on the path to sustainable profitability.

“From a trading standpoint, it was, as expected, a year of two halves, with the first six months reflecting the impact of the CVA implementation, followed by a significant improvement in the second half and, in particular, during Q4.  

“We remain the clear number one player in floorcoverings, having maintained our market leadership during an exceptionally challenging period, and our brand attributes remain strong. Our work is far from finished, and while economic and political uncertainties cloud the near-term outlook for the retail sector, our turnaround plan is very much on track.”