Rainham, England, June 29-- Carpetright Plc, Britain's largest carpet retailer, said annual profit climbed 31 percent after it cut prices to lure shoppers and reduced costs.
Net income for the year ended May 1 rose to 49.1 million pounds ($89.7 million), or 68.8 pence a share, from 37.6 million pounds, or 50.1 pence, a year earlier, the company said in a Regulatory News Service statement. Sales climbed 3.7 percent to 452.7 million pounds, it said..
Carpetright took as much as 50 percent off more than 2,000 carpets during the second half to spur demand in the U.K.'s 1.8
billion-pound market for flooring.
It also opened more stores, bringing the number of outlets in Britain and concessions at Allders Ltd. department stores to 364 and 38 respectively.
"Whilst the floor coverings market remains tough the business is well placed to continue to grow market share, sales and profits," Chairman and Chief Executive Lord Harris said.
Shares of Carpetright fell 10 pence, or 1 percent, to 975 pence in London yesterday, paring this year's gain to 18 percent. The FTSE 350 General Retailers Index has risen 14 percent in the same period, led by a 54 percent advance from Topps Tiles Plc.
British homeowners are moving away from carpeted floors to tiles for bathrooms and wooden floorboards for the rest of the home, according to analysts. Topps Tiles, the U.K.'s largest retailer of specialty tiles, said last month first-half profit more than doubled as Britons increasingly renovated their homes or bought new ones.
U.K. mortgage lending rose by a record in April and house prices have gained 20 percent in the past year, fueled by low interest rates and an increase in the number of home-improvement and property shows on British television.
In the face of a fashion revival for wooden floorboards, Carpetright is saving money by cutting carpets itself rather than paying someone else to do so. The company also is expanding in Belgium and the Netherlands, where it aims to double its current market share of 6 percent in three years.
