Tough year sees big fall in profits at Carpetright
RETAILER Carpetright, which has eight stores in Northern Ireland, has revealed half-year profits crashed by 92.7% and warned full-year earnings will be towards the bottom end of expectations in a “volatile and unpredictable” consumer market.
The group cautioned over a “fragile” consumer outlook and intense competition as it posted bottom line pre-tax profits of £300,000 for the six months to October 28, down from £4.1m a year earlier.
On an underlying basis, profits more than halved to £2.1m from £5.1m a year ago.
Carpetright said a challenging first half saw profits impacted by a clearance sale to shift discontinued bed lines as it overhauled the entire range.
UK like-for-like sales rose 0.7% in the first half, but UK earnings fell 27%.
The chain said sales had picked up in the first six weeks of the second half — rising by 1.4% on a like-for-like basis in the UK — but cautioned over the second half. Chief executive Wilf Walsh said: “When wage inflation fails to keep pace with RPI (inflation) there has, at some stage, to be a tipping point when customers tighten their belts.
“As the Brexit divorce terms remain unclear, the consumer market has remained volatile and unpredictable, but whatever happens we believe we can maintain and indeed grow our share in the core flooring market.”