Carpetright posts fall in sales

Carpetright reported a drop in like-for-like sales in the UK and Europe in the 12 weeks to July 20th.Like-for-like sales in the UK fell by 1.9% as the store base was scaled back by five during the period to 473. Gross profit in the UK improved by 80 basis point (bps).In the Rest of Europe, which includes the Netherlands, Belgium and the Republic of Ireland, like-for-like sales declined by 10.6% due to a weakness in the Netherlands economy.Gross profit, nevertheless, increased by 100bps.Chief Executive, Darren Shapland, said: "We saw solid growth in UK sales during May and June, reflecting the continued progress of our self-help activities. "During July this positive trend was reversed by the significantly warmer weather, with the decline being compounded by a period of strong, wet weather assisted, comparatives in 2012 during which retail like-for-like grew by 5.3%."Shapland added that the company continues to grow mark share and sees significant potential in planned self-help initiatives despite the tough trading conditions. Shares were down 1.83% to 669p at 14:11 on Tuesday.RD