Carpetright Plc, Britain's biggest carpet retailer, on Tuesday posted a 72 percent slump in annual profit.
By Rebecca Waters
The group, which trades in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Poland, reported an underlying pretax profit of 17.2 million pounds in the year to May 2.
Total revenue fell 7.4 percent to 482.8 million pounds, with like-for-like sales down 13.5 percent in the main UK and Ireland division.
Commenting, Lord Harris, Chairman and Chief Executive, said that the decline in consumer confidence and market conditions had led to “a significant reduction in sales volume and profitability”.
He added that he did not expect a return to more normal trading conditions for at least 12 months.
Despite this, Lord Harris said that the acquisition of Sleepright and the continued growth of the group’s European business “ensure we are well placed to trade resiliently”.
Carpetright cut its final dividend to 4 pence from 30 pence, making full year dividend of 8 pence.