United Carpets flags 'slow' 2010

9th Aug 2010 07:53

Britain's second largest carpet and flooring retailer, United Carpets, improved profits during the year to March, but admitted that trading has been slow since the start of 2010.Profit before tax and exceptional items grew 7.3% to £1.46m on revenue up 2.5% to £27.47m. Sales on a like for like basis rose 1% during the period."Sales of flooring and beds remained stable during the period under review which resulted in a good performance for the year," chief executive Paul Eyre said.But the company is worried about the potential impact of the coalition government's cost-cutting plans.It said the first 17 weeks of the current financial year have "continued to reflect the weaker trading patterns of the last quarter of 2009/10"."The market environment remains challenging, with little improvement in volume across the housing market and an understandable sense of caution amongst consumers given the continuing economic uncertainty in the UK," said Eyre. "This was reflected in a slow trading period since January which has continued into the current financial year."The final dividend is kept at 0.5p per share.