TIDMCPR
RNS Number : 3380N
Carpetright PLC
25 October 2016
Carpetright plc
Trading Update
& Analyst Site Visit
Carpetright plc, Europe's leading specialist carpet and floor
coverings retailer, today announces an update on trading for the 25
weeks ended 22 October 2016.
Highlights
-- The Group's full year profit expectations are unchanged. (note 1)
-- UK
o Like-for-like sales down 2.9%. (notes 2, 3)
o Full year guidance of a decline in gross profit percentage
revised to between 150 and 200 basis points, a combination of
increased sourcing costs resulting from the devaluation of
sterling, competitive market conditions and a mix impact.
o 49 stores now trading under the new brand identity, delivering
sales growth above comparable stores in the rest of the estate.
o One store was opened and seven closed in the year to date,
giving a net reduction of six leaving 429 trading locations.
-- Rest of Europe
o In local currency terms, like-for-like sales in the Rest of
Europe (Netherlands, Belgium and the Republic of Ireland) increased
by 0.9%.
o Full year guidance of an increase in gross profit percentage
maintained at between 100-150 bps.
o During the period, four stores were opened and four closed
leaving 137 trading locations.
Wilf Walsh, Chief Executive, said:
"Trading conditions in the UK in the first half reflect variable
consumer demand and increased competitive pressures. Against this
background, our plan to revitalise the UK business remains on track
and we are now almost halfway towards our target of 100 store
refurbishments in the current financial year, with investment in
the first half weighted to the latter part of the period.
"The initial trading performance of these newly refurbished
stores has been encouraging - they are outperforming comparable
stores in the estate, giving us confidence that where we invest we
are able to drive a material improvement in performance. In
addition, the introduction of new hard flooring sections in 26
stores, has contributed to a 15% increase in laminate/luxury vinyl
tile sales. We continue to make progress with our plans to reduce
property costs.
"Trading in the Rest of Europe continues to improve and is a
little ahead of our expectations.
"As we enter the second half, we are looking forward to
implementing the next phase of our refurbishment and rebranding
programme as we continue our drive to update and revitalise the
business. With the benefit of recent UK investment expected to flow
through as the second half progresses, further significant
refurbishment work already underway and a continued improvement in
the Rest of Europe, our guidance for the year as a whole remains
unchanged."
Site visit
Carpetright is hosting a site visit for analysts today to its
recently refurbished stores at Croydon and Epsom, Surrey.
Presentation materials from the visit will be available on
http://www.carpetright.plc.uk/investors/ later today. No new
material information will be provided.
The Group will report its interim results for the first half of
the current financial year on Tuesday, 13 December 2016.
For further enquiries please contact:
Carpetright plc
Wilf Walsh, Chief Executive
Neil Page, Chief Financial Officer
Tel: 01708 802000
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Kevin Smith / Nick Hayns
Tel: 020 7638 9571
Further information on Carpetright plc, including an alert
service for latest company news, can be found at
http://www.carpetright.plc.uk/
A copy of this trading statement will be available on our
website from 7.00am today.
Notes
1. Consensus for the year ending 29 April 2017 is for Group
underlying profit before tax to be GBP18.5m, with a range from
GBP15.2m to GBP20.5m.
2. Sales represents amounts payable by customers for goods and
services before deducting VAT and other charges.
3. Like-for-like sales calculated as this year's sales compared
to last year's sales for all stores that are at least 12 months old
at the beginning of our financial year. Stores closed during the
year are excluded from both years. No account is taken of changes
to store size or introduction of third party concessions.
4. There have been no significant changes to the Group's financial position during the period.
Notes to Editors
Carpetright plc is Europe's leading specialist floor coverings
and beds retailer. Since the first store was opened in 1988 the
business has developed both organically and through acquisition
within the UK and other European countries. The Group is organised
into two geographical regions, the UK and the Rest of Europe
(comprising The Netherlands, Belgium and the Republic of
Ireland).
Appendix 1: Group Sales
Current Previous Financial
Financial Year
Year
----------------------------------------------- ----------- ---------------------
25 weeks 26 weeks 52 weeks
to to to
22 Oct 31 Oct 30 April
2016 2015 2016
----------------------------------------------- ----------- --------- ----------
UK
* Total (5.5%) 2.6% (1.3%)
* Like-for-like (2.9%) 3.7% 2.8%
Rest of Europe
* Total (in local currency) (0.2%) 5.5% 4.9%
* Like-for-like (in local currency) 0.9% 5.5% 4.8%
* Total (in GBP) 15.2% (5.0%) (1.2%)
----------------------------------------------- ----------- --------- ----------
Group Sales (in GBP) (2.7%) 1.4% (1.3%)
----------------------------------------------- ----------- --------- ----------
Appendix 2: Store portfolio
Current Previous
Financial Financial Year
Year
----------------- ------------------------------------
Store portfolio 22 Oct 2016 Interim Year end
31 Oct 2015 30 April
2016
----------------- ----------------- -----------------
Stores Sq ft Stores Sq ft Stores Sq ft
'000 '000 '000
-------------------------- ------- -------- ------- -------- ------- --------
UK
Standalone 415 3,678 425 3,799 420 3,734
Concessions 14 26 13 19 15 29
Total 429 3,704 438 3,818 435 3,763
-------------------------- ------- -------- ------- -------- ------- --------
Europe
Republic of Ireland 21 157 22 162 21 157
Netherlands 93 962 94 1,044 93 985
Belgium 23 236 22 247 22 245
Total 137 1,356 138 1,453 137 1,387
-------------------------- ------- -------- ------- -------- ------- --------
Total Group 566 5,060 576 5,271 572 5,140
-------------------------- ------- -------- ------- -------- ------- --------
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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