United Carpets reports ‘modest improvement’ in full year results
Flooring retailer United Carpets has reported an increase in pre-tax profit and like-for-like sales in its full year results.
In the year to 31 March, profit rose to £1.53 million from £1.49 million in the prior year. Meanwhile, like-for-like sales grew by 1.3%.
Revenue, which includes marketing and rental costs incurred by the company and recharged to franchisees, was £21.2 million compared to £21.4 million in the previous year. The reduction reflects a decrease in the average number of corporate stores during the year compared to the prior year, which was largely offset by increased activity through United Carpets’ warehousing division.
Paul Eyre, United Carpets chief executive, said: “These results show a modest improvement on the prior year together with a positive like-for-like performance up 1.3%. This is a creditable result against a backdrop of increasing economic uncertainty which has tended to damage consumer confidence. We have been helped by the resilience of our franchise model together with the strength of our core customer offering of providing great quality products at attractive price points.”
By the end of March 2017, the company had 57 stores of which 50 were franchised and seven were corporate.
The company said like-for-like sales for the 15 weeks since the period end to 13 July have been “slightly positive,” despite a significant increase in marketing activity.
Peter Cowgill, United Carpets chairman, said: “The market environment continues to be unsettled. The recent general election has done little to change that and the process of Brexit is likely to create ongoing fluctuations in consumer confidence.
“This adds a note of caution to the board’s outlook for the business but nevertheless, we expect the group to continue to develop and pursue expansion opportunities on a selective basis and retain its core focus on its customer offering of providing great quality products at attractive price points.”
