Topps Tiles sales expected to fall

Tile and flooring outlet Topps Tiles is set to report a 1.7pc fall in revenue but pre-tax profits are expected to meet forecasts.

The DIY specialist group, which has 320 stores across the UK, is due to post overall sales of £175.7m for 52 weeks, down from £182.4m in 2010.

Like-for-like revenues are also expected to show a 1.9pc fall when the company announces its preliminary results at the end of November.

In a trading update that comes a month after Topps Tiles issued a profit warning, the company said pre-tax profit was likely to be in line with estimates ranging from £12.9m to £13.4m.

It added there were "no significant unexpected changes" in the group's finances since its interim report in April.

Despite tough market conditions hitting the housing sector, Topps opened 15 new stores and closed or moved seven in the last year.

But analysts said any improvement in trading was unlikely.

Freddie George, retail analyst at Seymour Pierce, said: "The housing market is expected to remain subdued; there is limited scope for cost savings and for DIY in particular, the home stores being developed by the multiples provide a competitive threat."

Source : Donna Bowater – The Telegraph
www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/epic/tpt/8791380/Topps-Tiles-sales-expected-to-fall.html