Topps Tiles Share News (TPT)

(Sharecast News) - Topps Tiles reported a jump in third-quarter sales on Wednesday following the reopening of its stores after lockdown measures were eased.
In an update on trading for the 13 weeks to 26 June, the tile specialist said its omni-channel retail business has performed well. On a two-year basis, retail like-for-like sales rose 12.9% over the third quarter, and 18.5% in the 11 weeks since the stores fully re-opened.

Topps said the successful launch of its extended outdoor range and increasing demand for its value offer lifted sales in the 11-week period. While percentage gross margins were slightly lower than previous guidance, gross profits were "strong," the company added.

"We are well placed to benefit from continuing high levels of consumer demand in the home improvement sector over the coming months."

Chief executive officer Rob Parker said: "I'm encouraged by the strength of the Group's performance in the third quarter, following the lifting of trading restrictions in mid-April. Building on the initial recovery we reported at the time of our interim results, our retail sales strengthened further over the balance of the period.

"We remain positive on the trading outlook for remainder of the financial year, and are well positioned to take advantage of increased consumer confidence and spending as we focus on our market share goal of '1 in 5 by 2025'."

The '1 in 5' refers to Topps' goal of accounting for £1 in every £5 spent on tiles and associated products in the UK by 2025, increasing its market share to 20% from around 17% currently.

At 1115 BST, the shares were up 0.4% at 72.20p.