Latest News
2012-01-31_Interim Management Statement
Carpetright plc
Interim Management Statement
Carpetright plc, Europe’s leading specialist carpet and floor coverings retailer, today announces its trading update for the 12 weeks ended 21 January 2012.
Highlights
· Group sales1 declined by 3.8%.
· Sales in the UK declined by 4.8%, with like-for-like sales2 down 0.5%.
· In local currency terms, total sales in Rest of Europe (The Netherlands, Belgium and the Republic of Ireland) decreased by 0.1% with like-for-like sales up 0.3%. After allowing for the movement in exchange rates, this translates to a total sales increase in Rest of Europe of 1.1%.
· Whilst self-help initiatives are improving the Group’s performance, based on the current pace of sales and margin improvement, full year underlying pre-tax profit is expected to be slightly below the lower end of current market expectations.
· Year end net debt expected to be around £43m (2011: £65.7m).
Lord Harris of Peckham, Chairman and Chief Executive, said:
“Tough trading conditions in the UK persisted in the third quarter of our financial year with fragile consumer confidence producing a difficult floor coverings market. We have said in the past that the like-for-like sales performance has been volatile, and this continues to be the case, with volumes remaining sensitive to levels of promotional discounting. Excluding sales from our insurance replacement business, which has been disappointing, our core retail business would have reported like-for-like growth of 1.0%.
“Against this tough backdrop we have continued to focus on a range of self-help initiatives and have made progress in each of these areas. The response to the re-launch of our bed proposition in January was encouraging and we have completed the refurbishment of 27 stores, which are delivering good growth. The gross profit margin decline seen the in first half was 430 basis points. This is expected to moderate to around 300 basis points in the second half, slightly down on our previous expectation, reflecting the continued need to drive value for the consumer to maintain sales momentum. We have continued to take a determined approach to reducing the cost base and expect this to be down by approximately £5m year on year, in line with our previous expectations.
“We are delighted that the actions taken in our Rest of Europe operations are now delivering growth in like-for-like sales and an improvement in profitability. We are particularly pleased with the success of the recovery plan in the Republic of Ireland.
“In this current environment, predicting the final outcome for the year with any accuracy is difficult. The result for the year will depend on our performance in the final quarter when we see some weak comparatives but, with sales volatility continuing to impact on the pace of margin improvement, we expect underlying pre-tax profits for the full year will be slightly below the lower end of the current range of market expectations. We expect the year end net debt to be significantly down on the previous year, at around £43m.
“Looking forward, I see no respite from the challenging environment over the next 12 months but remain confident the Group will emerge in a strong position to deliver future growth once consumer demand improves.”
The Group will report its usual year end pre-close trading update on Tuesday 24 April 2012 in advance of its year end on 28 April 2012.
Analyst conference call
Lord Harris will host a conference call for analysts at 8.00am GMT today.
The dial in number is +44 (0)20 3003 2666with the passcode 374 6482
Thereafter, for further enquiries please contact:
Carpetright plc
Lord Harris of Peckham, Chairman and Chief Executive
Neil Page, Group Finance Director
Tel: 01708 802000
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Kevin Smith / Lindsay Noton
Tel: 020 7638 9571
A copy of this trading statement will be available on our website www.carpetright.plc.uk today from 7.00am.
Notes
1. All sales figures are quoted after deducting VAT.
2. Like-for-like sales calculated as this year’s net sales divided by last year’s net 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. Sales from insurance and house building contracts are supplied through the stores and included in their figures.
3. There have been no significant changes to the Group’s financial position during the period.
4. Certain statements in this report are forward looking. Although the Group believes that the expectations reflected in these forward looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct. Because these statements contain risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update any forward looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
2011-12-13_Interim Results Announcement
13 December 2011
Carpetright plc
Interim Results for the 26 weeks ended 29 October 2011
Carpetright plc, Europe’s leading specialist carpet and floor coverings retailer, today announces its interim results for the 26 week trading period to 29 October 2011.
Headlines
Group
• Total Group revenue1 declined by 3.9% to £238.4m (2010: £248.0m)
• Underlying2 operating profit of £3.7m (2010: £12.6m)
• Underlying2 profit before tax of £1.4m (2010: £10.0m)
• Underlying2 earnings per share of 1.2p (2010: 10.7p)
• No interim dividend is being declared (2010: 8.0p)
• Net debt reduced by £10.7m to £55.0m during the first half
Statutory
• Loss before tax of £0.8m (2010: profit of £9.8m)
• Basic loss per share of 0.9p (2010: 10.4p profit)
UK
• Total revenue1 declined by 5.6% to £192.1m (2010: £203.4m), with like-for-like sales3 down 2.4%
• Gross margin reduced by 430 basis points to 58.0% (2010: 62.3%), reflecting higher levels of promotional discount and increasing proportion of beds in the sales mix
• Total costs down by £4.8m, a 4.2% reduction in the first half
• Underlying2 operating profit of £0.8m (2010: £11.3m)
• Store base reduced by a net 36 during the first half to 503 stores
Rest of Europe
• Total reported revenue1 increased by 3.8% to £46.3m (2010: £44.6m), in local currency this was a decline of 0.9% with like-for-like3 sales down by 0.3%
• Underlying2 operating profit of £2.9m (2010: £1.3m)
• Head office operations consolidated, saving £0.5m per annum
• No net change in store numbers during the first half
Commenting on the results, Lord Harris of Peckham, Chairman and Chief Executive, said:
“Like many other retailers we are continuing to experience a very challenging trading environment, with significant sales volatility and a corresponding decrease in the gross margin. Against this backdrop, the Group has remained profitable on an underlying basis and continues to generate net cash.
“With the consumer environment expected to remain difficult, we are focusing on those opportunities that are under our direct control. We have reduced our total cost base in the first half and will continue to take a determined approach to reducing this further. The development of our beds business under the leadership of a new management team presents a significant growth opportunity and the imminent launch of our improved bed offer gives us confidence in improving the Group’s performance in the remainder of the year. In addition, in floor coverings we will continue to offer the best prices to our customers by adapting ranges and promotional activity, whilst simultaneously working with our suppliers to reduce the level of margin investment in the second half. Finally, we shall roll out our improved laminate offer to around 200 stores by our financial year end.
“We are confident that the combination of these factors will underpin an improved trading performance for the Group in the second half and our expectations for the year as a whole are unchanged.
“Although we anticipate the economic environment will remain challenging for the foreseeable future, we believe the Group is in a strong position to capitalise on a strong value offer supported by a superior service proposition, when consumer demand in our sector improves.”
Notes
1. All sales figures are quoted after deducting VAT.
2. ‘Underlying’ excludes exceptional items and related tax.
3. Like-for-like sales calculated as this year’s net sales compared to last year’s net 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. Sales from insurance and house building contracts are supplied through the stores and included in their figures.
Results Presentation
Carpetright will hold a presentation to analysts and investors at Deutsche Bank, Winchester House, 1 Great Winchester Street, London, EC2N 2DB at 9.00 am today.
A listen only conference call facility is available on +44(0) 1452 560297, conference ID: 33708795.
A copy of this interim statement can be found on our website www.carpetright.plc.uk today from 7.00am.
Enquiries:
Carpetright plc
Lord Harris of Peckham, Chairman and Chief Executive
Neil Page, Group Finance Director
Telephone 020 7638 9571 (until 2pm), 01708 802000 (thereafter)
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Kevin Smith / Lindsay Noton
Telephone 020 7638 9571
Forthcoming News flow:
Carpetright will release its Interim Management Statement for the third quarter on
31 January 2012.
31 January 2012.
Certain statements in this report are forward looking. Although the Group believes that the expectations reflected in these forward looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct. Because these statements contain risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update any forward looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Board Changes - Appointment of Director
21 November 2011
Carpetright plc
Board Changes - Appointment of Director
Carpetright plc, Europe's leading specialist carpet and floor coverings retailer, announces that David Clifford has been appointed to the Board as an independent non-executive director, with effect from 1st December 2011.
David Clifford (59) was until recently a senior partner with KPMG. Throughout his career he held a variety of roles, and led the Consumer Markets Unit of KPMG for a period, advising a number of retailers.
Lord Harris of Peckham, Chairman and Chief Executive, said:
"I am delighted that David has agreed to join Carpetright's board as an independent non-executive director. His experience and track record will enable him to make a valuable contribution to the Board."
Committee changes
Following David Clifford's appointment to the board, he is also being appointed as a member of Carpetright's Audit and Remuneration Committees.
Regulatory information
No other information is required to be disclosed pursuant to paragraph LR 9.6.13R of the Listing Rules of the Financial Services Authority in relation to the appointment of David Clifford as a Director of Carpetright.
- Ends -
For further enquiries please contact:
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Kevin Smith / Lindsay Noton
Tel: 020 7638 9571
2011-10-25_Interim Management Statement
Carpetright plc
Pre-close Trading Update
Carpetright plc, Europe’s leading specialist carpet and floor coverings retailer, today announces a trading update for the 12 weeks ended 22 October 2011.
Highlights
· Group sales1 declined by 5.2%.
· The Group’s store base has decreased by 11 to 643 stores.
· Sales in the UK declined by 6.8%, with like-for-like sales2 down 3.0%.
· In local currency terms, total sales in Rest of Europe (The Netherlands, Belgium and the Republic of Ireland) decreased by 1.8% with like-for-like sales down 1.7%. After allowing for the movement in exchange rates, this translates to a total sales increase of 2.9%.
· Full year underlying pre-tax profits expected to be at the lower end of current expectations5.
Lord Harris of Peckham, Chairman and Chief Executive, said:
“As I have said previously, like many other retailers we expect the challenging trading environment across Europe will continue for the rest of our financial year. This view is reflected in the update announced today.
“In the UK, like-for-like sales performance has been volatile, with sales volumes closely linked to periods when there has been a higher level of promotional discount. This factor, alongside an increasing proportion of beds in the sales mix, will dilute the gross margin by around 400 basis points in the first half compared to the prior year, with a corresponding impact on first half profitability. To partially offset this, we continue to take a determined approach to reducing our cost base and expect this to be down by approximately £4m.
In this fragile market, we remain focused on self-help measures. We have continued to rationalise the UK store base and have been successful in transferring sales to nearby stores as part of this activity. Based on our experience in the first half, we are adapting our ranges and promotional activity to continue to offer the best prices to our customers whilst simultaneously working with our suppliers to reduce the level of margin investment. Following the appointment of a new senior management team in July 2011, we have further developed and expanded our beds business, which now represents approximately 6.0% of revenue. The new team will launch a significantly improved beds range in the third quarter of our current financial year and accelerated growth from the beds business will be an important area in the delivery of our sales and margin targets for the second half. The roll-out of our new laminate offering is progressing and we continue to develop our website to help drive store footfall. These factors are expected to combine to limit the impact on gross margin to around 300 basis points for the full year.
“The actions we have taken in our Rest of Europe operations are delivering an improvement in profitability despite a decline in sales.
“As a consequence of all of these factors, we expect underlying pre-tax profits for the full year to be towards the lower end of the current range of expectations.
“Looking forward, I see no respite from the challenging environment over the next year but remain confident the Group will emerge in a strong position to deliver future growth once consumer demand improves.”
The Group will report its interim results for the first half of its financial year on 13 December 2011.
Analyst conference call
Lord Harris will host a conference call for analysts at 8.30am BST today.
The dial in number is 020 8817 9301 with the passcode5849357
Thereafter, for further enquiries please contact:
Carpetright plc
Lord Harris of Peckham, Chairman and Chief Executive
Neil Page, Group Finance Director
Tel: 01708 802000
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Kevin Smith / Lindsay Noton
Tel: 020 7638 9571
A copy of this trading statement will be available on our website www.carpetright.plc.uk today from 7.00am.
Notes
1. All sales figures are quoted after deducting VAT.
2. Like-for-like sales calculated as this year’s net sales divided by last year’s net 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. Sales from insurance and house building contracts are supplied through the stores and included in their figures.
3. There have been no significant changes to the Groups financial position during the period.
4. Certain statements in this report are forward looking. Although the Group believes that the expectations reflected in these forward looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct. Because these statements contain risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update any forward looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
5. The current range of analysts' estimates for adjusted pre-tax profits for the 52 week period ending 28 April 2012 is £11.8m to £16.9m.
Appendix 1: Store portfolio
