Home Retail’s perfomance ahead of expectations
Home Retail Group expects year-end profits on to be slightly above expectations but says it is still cautious about a challenging retail environment.
Argos total sales rose 6.8% in the final eight weeks of the financial year, with like-for-like sales up 3%, driven by growth in televisions and video games systems. Homebase’s total sales grew by 13.3% in the same period with like-for-like growth up 9.9%. Gross margin was driven by ongoing supply chain initiatives and improved stock management. “We now expect profits on a 52-week pro forma basis to be slightly above the current market consensus, driven principally by Argos,” said the group. “While we are pleased with the most recent performance and the likely outturn for the financial year just completed, we remain cautious on a retail environment that is still expected to be challenging,” it added.
