Topps Tiles expects sharp sales fall

The sharp downturn in the housing market means that tile and wood floor specialist Topps Tiles expects to sales for the year to 26 September to fall to £186m from £208.1m over the same period the previous year.Like for like sales in the period are likely to be down by 13.4%, the firm, which operates 320 stores, adds.Topps said analysts are predicting pre-tax profits for the year in the range of about £10.5m to £14m. It closed 22 stores during the year.'Whilst we remain cautious in our outlook for the economy the business is proving its resilience by continuing to deliver profits in line with expectations and reducing net debt,' chief executive Matt Williams said. 'The board is reassured by our current trading performance and we are seeing signs of stability in our market.' Topps Tiles