By Michele Maatouk
Date: Wednesday 05 Oct 2022
LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Topps Tiles said on Wednesday that full-year profits were set to be towards the upper end of market expectations after another record year for sales.
In an update for the 52 weeks to 1 October, the tile specialist said group sales came in at around £247.3m, up 10.6% on the previous year. Group sales in the 13 weeks to 1 October were 4.3% higher, meanwhile, with positive progress across the business.
Topps said it continues to perform well against a very strong comparative period last year. Like-for-like sales were down 1.2% on the year in the final quarter, with the underlying LFL sales trend similar to that reported in the third-quarter update. For the full year, LFL sales growth was 9.4%.
Topps said average weekly sales per store were 25% higher than in the pre-pandemic period of FY19. Around half of this growth is due to the transfer of sales from closed stores as it rationalised its store network and improved store sales densities, while the remainder was down to underlying sales growth, including particular strength in trade sales.
Chief executive Rob Parker said: "We are delighted to have delivered a second successive year of record sales for the group, with profits expected to be towards the upper end of market expectations. All parts of the group contributed to this performance and are making good strategic progress as we develop and diversify the business.
"Our market leading omni-channel retail business, Topps Tiles, has performed well against strong prior year comparatives and we are continuing to grow our base of loyal trade customers.
"The Group has worked hard to achieve a strong balance sheet with positive net cash and this will serve us well as we move into a period of macroeconomic volatility, leading to a more uncertain environment for consumers."