It seems Topps Tiles' (TPT) bosses and analysts agree that the 2017 financial year was tough. Subdued trading coupled with tough comparative figures from the previous financial year left like-for-like sales down 2.9 per cent in FY2017, while pressure from weaker sterling caused an 80 basis point squeeze in gross margins to 61.1 per cent. Analysts have been forced to downgrade numbers throughout the year, which has hasn’t helped the shares.
But there are reasons to be optimistic. Like-for-like sales during the first eight weeks of the new financial year are up 3.2 per cent, while brokerage Peel Hunt describes current trading patterns as “less volatile”. The board has also credited its long-term strategy – dubbed 'Out-specialising the specialists' – for the return to growth. It says that FY2018 will continue to be a “year of learning”, but there’s hope that, by expanding further into the commercial tile market, this renewed sales momentum will continue.
Analysts at Peel Hunt expect pre-tax profit of £17.7m for the year ending September 2018, giving EPS of 7.3p, compared with £18.6m and 7.7p in FY2017.
| TOPPS TILES (TPT) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 73p | MARKET VALUE: | £140m | |
| TOUCH: | 72.25-73p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 107p | LOW: 60p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4.7% | PE RATIO: | 10 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 12p | NET DEBT: | 117% | |
| Year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2013 | 178 | 10.6 | 4.8 | 1.5 |
| 2014 | 195 | 16.7 | 6.5 | 2.3 |
| 2015 | 212 | 17.0 | 6.8 | 3.0 |
| 2016 | 215 | 20.0 | 8.1 | 3.5 |
| 2017 | 212 | 17.0 | 7.0 | 3.4 |
| % change | -1 | -15 | -13 | -3 |
| Ex-div: | 21 Dec | |||
| Payment: | 2 Feb |
