Carpetright unrolls strong profits growth

29th Jun 2010 07:13

Things are on the up at floor coverings retailer Carpetright with revenue and profits both improved last year.Total group revenue in the 52 weeks to 1 May 2010 rose 7.0% to £516.6m from £482.8m the year before. The inclusion of Sleepright for its first full year contributed 2.0% of this increase.The UK & Ireland's turnover jumped 7.9%, with like for like sales up 3.1% year on year, while the stores in the Netherlands and Belgium increased revenue by 4.1%.All sales figures exclude VAT.Underlying profit before tax surged 64.0% to £28.2m from £172m the year before, while "as reported" pre-tax profit rose to £22.3m from £16.7m."Although we are planning for consumer demand across Europe to remain subdued, we have market leading positions in all our geographical areas with strong value led retail brands. I believe this enables us to look confidently to the future as and when the economic conditions improve," said Lord Harris of Peckham, the chairman and chief executive of Carpetright.During the year under review the group opened 53 stores and closed 45. The total store space grew by 0.8% to 6.2m square feet. The final dividend has been doubled to 8.0p, making the full year dividend twice that of the year before at 16p.