Carpetright PLC (LON:CPR) will publish its interims tomorrow morning as it looks to steady the ship following a challenging 2016 – a year which has seen its share price drop by more than 50%.
For the most part, investors know what to expect after the company gave a trading update at the end of October.
Like-for-like sales in the six months to 22 October were down almost 3% compared to the same period last year, while margins also declined as materials costs increased due to the weaker pound.
Importantly for investors though, Carpetright was sure that its full-year profit expectations remained unchanged, so keep an eye out for this to be confirmed.
Peel Hunt is expecting sales to finish slightly ahead of its expectations, although they’ll still be around 5.5% off compared to last year’s figure.
“We forecast first half profit before tax of £5.7mln (2015: £9mln), reflecting gross margin declines of 200 base points, as Carpetright takes a more aggressive stance to competitor openings,” the broker said.
Now that the group is well into its peak trading period for the year, look out for any news on current trading and the immediate outlook to get a feel for how the year is shaping up.
Another point to focus on is the renovation of stores and how that is coming along as it moves into the second half.
Given that only 49 stores were refurbished (out of an estate of more than 400) in the first half, investors and analysts will be looking to see some acceleration on that front.
Other announcements expected:
Finals: Hollywood Bowl Group PLC (LON:BOWL); Pressure Technologies Plc (LON:PRES); Zytronic PLC (LON:ZYT)
Interims: Begbies Traynor Group PLC (LON:BEG); Byotrol PLC (LON:BYOT); Carpetright PLC (LON:CPR); Eurocell PLC (LON:ECEL)