Shares in FTSE 100 retailers had a difficult morning on Thursday, after investors were spooked by a profit warning from furniture giant DFS (LON:DFS).
In a trading statement, DFS adjusted their EBITDA forecast for the full year downwards, to a range of between £82 million – £87 million. The new estimates, well below previous forecasts by analysts, were attributed to a decline in footfall as a result of UK economic uncertainty.
Shares in other major retailers also fell on the back of the news, with Next, Marks & Spencer, Kingfisher and Tesco some of the FTSE 100’s biggest fallers.
FTSE 250 retailers, including Dunelm, AO, Card Factory and Ocado are also down, with fello furniture retailer Dunelm trading 6.2 percent lower.
In a trading update, DFS said: “The trading environment has however recently weakened beyond our expectation, with significant declines in store footfall leading to a material reduction in customer orders”
“We believe these demand effects are market-wide, in line with industry indicators, and are linked to customer uncertainty regarding the general election and the uncertain macroeconomic environment.”
DFS are currently trading down 20.85 percent at 199.47 (1125GMT).
