"We see lots of reasons why we can continue to outperform the market," says Matt Williams, chief executive of Topps Tiles (TPT). His comments follow evidence of a good start to the year for the retailer, with like-for-like sales up 5 per cent in the first half, driving a 14 per cent jump in pre-tax profit to £9.1m.
Trade sales increased to account for nearly half of group turnover as Topps continued to strengthen relationships between tradesmen and store teams. Mr Williams said Topps would continue to push into this channel, which has delivered double-digit sales growth for four years now.
Yet the core estate is trading well, too. A focus on customer service and a wide range of tiles, as well as a good online presence with lots of fun features such as a virtual tile visualiser, are attracting customers. Meanwhile, the boutique store trial is showing promise. Two shops opened in the period, bringing the total to seven. Another six will open in the second half in places such as Chelsea and Dulwich - areas that would have been difficult to penetrate in the old out-of-town format.
Current trading is strong, with like-for-like sales since the period-end running 5 per cent ahead of last year. Liberum expects adjusted pre-tax profit of £20m for the full year, giving EPS of 7.9p, up from £17.1m and 6.7p.
| TOPPS TILES (TPT) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 120p | MARKET VALUE: | £232m | |
| TOUCH: | 120-121p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 127p | LOW: 86p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2% | PE RATIO: | 17 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 2.4p | NET DEBT: | £31m | |
| Half-year to 28 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 98 | 8.0 | 3.2 | 0.65 |
| 2015 | 104 | 9.1 | 3.7 | 0.75 |
| % change | +6 | +14 | +15 | +15 |
Ex-div: 11 Jun Payment: 15 Jul | ||||
