“Good start”
In the first 6 months, Carpetright managed a pre-tax profit of 6.7 billion pounds (8.5 billion euro), a 250 % increase compared to the year before. In that same period, turnover grew 2.6 % to 227.9 million pounds (some 290 million euro).
The floor specialist performed especially well in the United Kingdom, with like-for-like turnover up 6.5 %, while the rest of Europe (Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands) suffered a 3.3 % turnover drop. Nevertheless, Carpetright managed a profit overseas, thanks to lower costs and higher margins.
“Having made a solid start to the year, we now expect full-year underlying pre-tax profits to be towards the upper end of current market expectations,” Wilf Walsh, Carpetright’s CEO, said.
The company is still wary about the future, as the economic instability in Europe and the setback in British house sales could prove detrimental for consumer spending, which may in turn influence Carpetright’s plans for a better future.
