Store closures pull rug from under Carpetright

AssurAnces from Carpetright that its turnaround is on track have done little to shore up investor confidence.

shares slipped 2.1pc, or 0.4p, to 18.5p as the flooring company said it continued losing money in the six months ending October 27.

The troubled retailer has been axing stores to stem heavy losses. For the year to April 28, carpetright posted a loss of £70.5m.

This disruption heavily affected trading, though it added it had expected this and that there was improvement in its performance after the shake-up. chief executive Wilf Walsh said: ‘This is a transitional year as we work through our restructuring plan.

‘This activity is firmly on track and has started to yield benefits.’

After nearing collapse earlier this year, carpetright decided many of its shops were too expensive or too large to run.

It has closed 67 over the last six months – 65 in the uK and two in europe – and expects to shut another six before the end of December. It still expects to make the £19m of annual savings it has promised and will also lose its independent director Andrew Page, who will stand down from the board at the end of December ‘to focus on other commitments’.

A former chief executive of The restaurant Group, he has come under fire for holding too many board positions.

Activist investor crystal Amber, which owns 6.3pc of northgate, where he is chairman, has previously criticised Page for his ‘lack of strategic leadership’ and called for him to stand down. On the FTse 100, shares in Just

Eat surged 6.3pc, or 38.4p, to 646p as the takeaway firm set its sights on an expansion in Latin America. It also reported a 16pc rise in British orders to 30.3m in the three months to september 30, with group orders around the world climbing 27pc to 54.7m. sales rose 41pc to £195.3m.

However, investments in Brazil and Mexico will push 2018 profits to the lower end of the £165m to £185m range.

Analysts at Liberum concluded that the strategy of investing was the right one. But Peel Hunt earlier this week advised investors to sell Just eat shares, saying that stiff competition from the likes of uber eats and Deliveroo could kill the business. Smith & Nephew, the FsTe 100 medical equipment manufacturer, also received a thumbs-up from investors as it announced revenue for the third quarter of the year was up 2pc to £901.1m.

shares jumped 6.6pc, or 83.5p, to 1357p as growth proved particularly strong in the us and emerging markets.

The uK remained challenging, smith & nephew added, but it wasn’t unduly worried about Brexit. Housebuilders climbed on reports that the Government could be close to a Brexit deal.

Investors had feared that leaving the eu with no deal could hit the economy, causing the market to slump. On the FTse 100, Barratt Development edged up 3.1pc, or 15.8p, to 529.8p, Persimmon by 3pc, or 69p, to 2363p, Taylor Wimpey by 2.9pc, or 4.75p, to 166.25p and Berkeley by 2.3pc, or 79p, to 3580p. But none of these gains was enough to haul the FTSE 100 into the black, as it ended down 0.19pc, or 13.44 points, at 7114.66.

On the FTse 250, Indivior, which creates drugs to treat heroin addiction, said profits fell 12pc in the first nine months of the year to £208.5m.

It has been squeezed by late rollouts of new drugs, and competition from rivals which it alleges are infringing its patents.

But investors, already warned of the poor results, seemed willing to take a punt as shares climbed 2pc, or 3.8p, to 192.1p.