UK's Topps Tiles posts lower annual like-for-like sales, sees September rebound

Topps Tiles Posts Slight Annual Sales Drop, Sees Growth in September Rebound

Topps Tiles Annual Performance and Market Factors

Annual Sales and Market Conditions

Sept 30 (Reuters) - Britain's largest tile retailer Topps Tiles on Thursday reported a marginal fall in annual like-for-like sales due to prolonged weakness in construction activity but said self-help measures lifted sales in September.

Impact of Construction and Consumer Trends

• Subdued building activity in the UK, driven by rising costs of construction and energy as well as cautious consumer spending, weighed on demand for building products.

Sales Figures and Financial Performance

• The company reported a 0.1% fall in like-for-like sales for the year ended September 26, as customers scaled back construction activity during the summer heatwave.

• The group expects to report annual adjusted pretax profit in line with average company-compiled analyst consensus of £6.6 million.

• Annual group revenue, excluding the stores absorbed from the acquisition of tile retailer CTD, rose about 0.7%.

September Rebound and Strategic Measures

Self-Help Measures and Store Optimization

• The company said like-for-like sales grew in September, adding that the growth reflected the benefits of its self-help measures, which included shuttering underperforming stores and streamlining the business.

Market Reaction and Share Performance

• Topps Tiles' shares are up more than 8% so far this week after Britain's plans to introduce support for first-time buyers lifted hopes of an increase in building activity.

Reporting Credits

(Reporting by Simone Lobo in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)