Carpetright Doubles Dividend As FY10 Pft Up; Outlook Caution

29th Jun 2010 07:21

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Carpet and floorings retailer Carpetright PLC (CPR.LN) Tuesday doubled its final dividend as it posted a higher fiscal 2010 pretax profit on the back of a new stream of sales from insurance and house building contracts, but said it expects the consumer environment to remain tough this year. The firm secured contracts from three of the U.K.'s largest domestic insurance providers, which it said aided sales. Revenue in its fiscal 2010, ended May 1, climbed 7% to GBP516.6 million from GBP482.8 million a year earlier. Sales of its carpets, laminate floorings and rugs were strong in the U.K. and Ireland, returning to growth of 7.9% to total GBP425.2 million. Carpetright's pretax profit rose to GBP22.3 million from GBP16.7 million a year earlier. The firm is proposing a doubled final dividend of 8 pence a share from 4 pence a share in fiscal 2009, which it said will give a full-year dividend of 16 pence a share, increased from 8 pence a share a year earlier. While it expects consumer demand across Europe to remain subdued, it said it should benefit from its market leading positions in all its areas. -By Hannah Benjamin, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9298; [email protected] Order free Annual Report for Carpetright plc Visit http://djnweurope.ar.wilink.com/?ticker=GB0001772945 or call +44 (0)208 391 6028 (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 29, 2010 02:21 ET (06:21 GMT)