Trading Update
October 09 2007 - 3:02AM
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:3733F
Carpetright PLC
09 October 2007
Carpetright plc
Pre First Half Close Trading Statement
Carpetright plc, Europe's leading specialist carpet and floor coverings
retailer, today announces its first half trading update for the first 23 weeks
(representing the period 29 April to 6 October 2007) of the 53 week year ending
on 3 May 2008.
We are pleased to announce that Group sales have increased by 10.3% and the
store base has increased to 658 stores.
The UK and Republic of Ireland business, including Storeys, has recorded a total
sales increase of 9.8%. Like-for-like sales (which excludes Storeys) have
declined by 0.8% whilst the gross margin has increased by over 1%.
The Rest of Europe (Belgium, The Netherlands and Poland) has recorded a total
sales increase of 13.8% with like-for-like sales up by 8.1%.
Within the UK and Republic of Ireland 21 stores have opened and 17 stores have
closed taking the total number of stores to 546 including 32 Storeys stores.
Across the Rest of Europe, the Group has opened two stores in Poland and one in
The Netherlands taking the total to 112 stores.
The Group has continued to take direct action on the cost base. The continuing
roll-out of the new store system (Navision) has enabled UK staffing levels to be
reduced by over 100 people since the end of January 2007. In addition, the
Group has sublet space in over 50 stores to Sleepright, a start-up bed retail
format.
The transfer to the new national distribution centre is proceeding to plan, as
is the integration of Storeys. These initiatives will lead to one-off costs of
approximately #7 - #10 million.
Lord Harris of Peckham, Chairman and Chief Executive, said:
"We are pleased with our overall performance across the Group particularly in
Europe. I believe that our market share is increasing in all our markets.
Trading conditions in the UK and RoI remain uncertain but we are continuing to
offer our customers outstanding value, through strong promotions, and we will
continue to cut costs where possible, relocate to smaller stores where
appropriate and focus on cash generation."
The Group's interim results for the six months to 27 October 2007 will be
presented on 11 December 2007.
For further enquiries please contact:
Carpetright plc
Ian Kenyon, Group Finance Director 01708 525522
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Kevin Smith / Fiona Mulcahy 020 7638 9571
9 October 2007
Carpetright plc
Pre First Half Close Trading Statement
2007 2006
Store Base - Numbers 6 October 2007 28 April 2007 28 October 2006 29 April 2006
UK & RoI
Large 377 374 367 355
Small 71 65 64 45
Concessions 66 73 63 40
Storeys 32 - - -
546 512 494 440
Rest of Europe
Belgium 28 28 28 28
The Netherlands 76 75 70 68
Poland 8 6 3 2
112 109 101 98
Group Total 658 621 595 538
2007 2006
Store Space - Sq Ft ('000) 6 October 2007 28 April 2007 28 October 2006 29 April 2006
UK & RoI
Large 3,595 3,601 3,591 3,486
Small 355 329 320 230
Concessions 142 154 146 105
Storeys 345 - - -
4,437 4,084 4,057 3,821
Rest of Europe
Belgium 347 347 347 347
The Netherlands 912 903 854 836
Poland 83 63 35 23
1,342 1,313 1,236 1,206
Group Total 5,779 5,397 5,293 5,027
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
TSTEAKENELEXFEE
Carpetright (LSE:CPR)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Carpetright (LSE:CPR)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024
