Topps Tiles (LON:TPT) said on Wednesday that like-for-like sales declined during its fourth quarter, impacted by a difficult economic climate.
Shares in the UK’s largest specialist supplier of tiles were down during trading on Wednesday morning.
The British retailer said that, in the fourth quarter, like-for-like sales decreased by 1.9%, blaming the “more challenging economic backdrop”, with uncertainty hitting consumer sentiment.
Matthew Williams, Chief Executive Officer, said that “political uncertainty continued to weigh on consumer confidence in the final quarter and we expect this to remain a feature until there is greater clarity”.
Indeed, as the nation has now entered the month of the extended Brexit deadline, the only certainty that prevails is additional uncertainty.
Just last week the Supreme Court ruled that Boris Johnson’s prorogation of Parliament was not only unlawful but also ineffective and non-existent.
Topps Tiles added that it expects adjusted revenues for the full year to be in the region of £214 million, and adjusted pre-tax profits for the year are expected to be within the range of current market estimates (£15.5 million to £16.0 million).
“Despite continued tough market conditions it has been a year of significant strategic progress for the Topps Group,” the Chief Executive Officer commented in a company statement.
“In Retail, the recent launch of our new, industry-leading website brings new levels of inspiration to our customers and further integrates our digital and in-store offer,” the Chief Executive Officer said.
“In Commercial, our investments in building the salesforce, opening new design studios and improving its digital capabilities have enabled Parkside to establish significant momentum in its second year within the Group.”
Topps Tiles also saw its sales dip first quarter of the financial year, amid what it described as a “challenging market backdrop”.
Shares in Topps Tiles plc (LON:TPT) were trading at -6.50% as of 09:49 BST Wednesday.
