Topps Tiles to meet expectations

Shares in Topps Tiles soared after the tile and flooring retailer said it expects to report revenues of £175.7m for the year to 1 October, down from £182.4m the previous year.It also says like-for-like revenues will decrease by 1.9%.These negative figure are however deceptive because the firm has been very conservative in its management statements, emphasising that market conditions are "subdued". Essentially the firm is battling against the headwinds of a weak retail environment combined with a slow housing market.Many investors though will look at the pre-tax profit statement which Topps says is expected to be in line with analysts' estimates (currently around the £14m mark.) Clearly some are concluding that this is "not bad" in the current economic climate.Shares in Topps were up 15.2% in early trading, at the 29p mark. The stockbrokers Seymour Price say it keeps Topps as a sell but with a revised 22p target.BS Topps Tiles