Sales up at Topps Tiles
Published: 30 November 2010
Topps Tiles has revealed pre tax profits of £12.4m for the 53 weeks to October 2, 2010, up from £9.9m last year.
Total group revenue increased 2% to £182.4m, while like-for-like revenue went up 1.7%. The company also managed to reduce net debt by £22.1m to £49.1m thanks to a focused control on costs.
However, adjusted pre tax profit declined from £17.5m to £16.3m due to restructuring costs and impairment charges. Overall gross margin was 58.7%, compared with 59.2% in the previous financial period.
The company has returned to store growth, with a net increase of three stores during the period, and has plans to open at least 10 more in the coming year. It is now trading from a total of 312 outlets, 275 of which are Topps stores.
The company has also commenced construction of a second warehouse facility at its Leicestershire headquarters, expected to cost £3m, which is due to be fully operational by April next year.
Topps has seen its retail position strengthened as market share has grown to 25%, up from 23% in 2009.
Chief executive Matthew Williams said: "This has been a robust performance from the business during a tough trading period, which demonstrates the effectiveness of our strategy and the strength and resilience of our business model. Through the prudent management of costs and careful control of our business, we have significantly reduced our net debt position during the period and continued to build on our market leading position.
"We are encouraged by current trading despite the challenging economic outlook and subdued levels of consumer confidence. We are confident that the business will benefit from our growth strategy and our continued focus on delivering outstanding value to our customers."
In the first seven weeks of the new financial period, group revenues increased by 2.9%, increasing by 3.2% on a like-for-like basis.