CARPETRIGHT has issued its sixth profit warning in a year and said it expected dire trading conditions to continue as it cuts prices to lure cash-strapped shoppers.
The carpet and floor-covering specialist, which trades from around 650 stores in Britain, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands, said yesterday underlying pre-tax profit would miss market expectations of £8.8m-£11.9m as discounting hits its profit margin.
The news has prompted analysts to cut their profit forecasts to £6m-£8m.
“With sales volatility continuing to impact on the pace of margin improvement, we expect underlying pretax profit for the full year will be slightly below the lower end of the current range of market expectations,” chairman and chief executive Lord Harris of Peckham said.
Harris, whose family own around a quarter of the company, said tough trading conditions had persisted throughout its third quarter as consumer confidence remained fragile.
“Looking forward, I see no respite from the challenging environment over the next 12 months,” he said.
