Carpetright issues profit warning as sales fall

Carpetright shares fell strongly after the retailer issued a profit warning due to tough trading and "fragile" consumer confidence.

The carpet chain, which is run by founder Lord Harris of Peckham, said that like-for-like sales in its core market of the UK and Ireland fell by 7.7pc over the 13 weeks to January 29.

The retailer said that full-year profit will be below market expectations. The shares closed down 22 at 707½p - a decline of 3pc - having fallen as much as 7pc earlier in the day.

Lord Harris said: "The tough trading conditions in the UK and Republic of Ireland have continued into the third quarter of our financial year, with adverse weather conditions and fragile consumer confidence producing a difficult floor coverings market.

"As we stated at our last update, we were expecting January trading to be boosted by the impact of snow in the comparative period. Although we have achieved an increase in sales year on year since Christmas, this has not been at the level expected. This causes us to remain cautious about the outlook for the remainder of the financial year."

The company said that full-year profit will be below last year and below analysts' forecasts.

Source : James Hall - The Telegraph