Returning confidence means United Carpets are ready to roll
RETURNING consumer confidence and an improving housing market helped Yorkshire-based United Carpets Group increase sales last year.
The Mexborough business which operates the second largest chain of carpet and floor covering stores in the UK, saw a 2.2% increase in like for like sales in the year to March 31 with revenue reaching £21.1m and pre-tax profits of £940,000.
The group shut five under performing stores and now has 59 shops.
It has changed its year end to March 31 so there is no direct comparison available for the previous year.
Chief executive Paul Eyre, said: “We are pleased to be announcing a good uplift in profitability, helped by an increase in like for like sales as consumer confidence increases slightly and the housing market also improves.
“This trading performance also reflects the benefits of the management actions taken two years ago to reduce significantly the size of the store portfolio, removing the majority of underperforming stores, re-focusing the business on a core network of stores and giving the company a stronger financial base from which to operate.”
The group is to reduce its issued share capital and cancel its share premium account to enable it to have more flexibility to pay dividends and buy-back shares.
Reducing the nominal amount of its ordinary shares of 5p each to 1p per share will remove the deficit on the company’s profit and loss account to create more reserves which can be distributed to shareholders.
