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Topps Tiles PLC on Wednesday said it is optimistic for the coming financial year, despite reporting a steep fall in sales in the year just completed. The Leicester-based tile specialist said sales excluding revenue from acquired assets fell by 5.7% for the year that ended this past Saturday to £248 million from £263 million a year before. Sales in the fourth quarter were 4.4% lower than a year before. Additionally, Topps reported a 9.1% decrease in annual like-for-like sales from a year before, and an 8.2% fall in quarterly like-for-like sales year-on-year. Topps attributed this to ‘challenging’ trading conditions during the 2024 financial year, with continued weak demand in the domestic Repair, Maintenance and Improvement sector, especially for bigger ticket projects. The company said it believes the market has declined by 10% to 15% year-on-year. Topps noted that sales to trade customers continued to outperform sales to homeowners. More positively, Topps reported that the remainder of its operations performed ‘significantly’ ahead of the market, with progress being driven by the continued growth of its Online Pure Play operations. Chief Executive Officer at Topps Rob Parker said: ‘We remain focused on the delivery of our new ’mission 365’ goal. In a year that has proved challenging in many ways, I am pleased by how well our teams have responded to the weaker market, demonstrating both our resilience and our ability to continue to outperform. I am also satisfied that despite these challenges we have been able to continue to deliver against our strategy and take opportunities as they have arisen, supported by our strong balance sheet.’ He continued: ‘Looking ahead, macro-economic indicators point to a stronger market in 2025. While the timing and trajectory of the recovery remains hard to predict, we are confident that our clearly articulated and proven strategy will enable the further development of the Group in all market conditions.’ The company will release its full annual results on November 26. Topps Tiles shares were down 0.5% to 43.72 pence each in London on Wednesday morning. Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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