Topps Tiles profits and sales flat

Sales fell slightly from £91.4m to £89.2m, although the retailer said it recorded a 1.5% increase when restated on a same reporting week basis. Group like-for-likes were up by 1.8%. Adjusted operating profit was £9.1m compared to £10.3m the previous year.

Topps Tiles said the report compares 26 weeks with 27 weeks, and the impact of the additional week would increase revenue by £3.6m and operating profit by £0.4m.

In the first seven weeks of the current year, Topps reported like-for-like sales fell by 2.1%.

Chief executive Matthew Williams said: “I consider this to have been a robust performance, in light of the prevailing economic conditions and in comparison to our sector peers.  We are encouraged with these results, which demonstrate growth in like-for-like sales and gross margin over the period, and are in line with management’s expectations.  We remain committed to our strategy of delivering outstanding value and service to our customers which will enable us to retain our market leading position. 

“We are continuing to manage the business by balancing short term constraints with longer term opportunities.  Like-for-like sales growth across the period has given us confidence to continue investing in infrastructure to drive longer term growth and to increase marketing spend to continue to promote our brand.  Current trading results reflect a more cautious approach amongst our consumers but we remain confident that we will continue to deliver our financial and operational objectives.”