Topps expects lower first half sales
TOPPS Tiles says trading conditions during the first half of its current financial year have continued to be tough, and it expects like-for-like sales to have fallen by around 4.5%.
The Handforth-based chain of 319 stores said in a trading update for the 26 weeks to March 31, that performance has been “broadly in line with management’s expectations”.
Topps said total revenues for the period will come in at £86.9m, down some 2.5% on the 2011 total of £89.2m,
The company said the timing of the New Year Bank holiday had impacted its second quarter performance, which against tough comparatives from last year, would be down by around 4.8% on a like-for-like basis.
“Due to the timing of the New Year Bank Holiday the second quarter contained one less trading day in 2012 and after adjusting for this the underlying like-for-like performance is a decline of circa 4.0%.”
Re-iterating previous guidance Topps – the largest specialiast tile retailer in the country, said it expects to have grown its store portfolio to 325 by the end of the financial year in September.
