Birmingham, England, July 5, 2006-- Shares of flooring company Floors 2 Go plunged 10% after it posted a profits warning amid falling sales, according to Daily Post.
The chain said like-for-like sales were down 8.6% in the first half of the year although the rate of decline was slower in the second quarter than the first.
Floors 2 Go, which has 139 outlets and sells laminate and wooden flooring, said profits for the year will be less than £5.5m expected in the City.
"Although we are pleased to report improving underlying trends at this stage, the market remains difficult and we therefore expect the profit outcome for the full year to be very marginally below current market expectations," the company said.
Retail analyst Richard Ratner, of stockbrokers Seymour Pierce, said he expected pre-tax profits of £5.1m - the same as last year.
Like-for-like sales fell 15.8% in the first quarter of the year as Floors 2 Go battled against a severe downturn in the home improvements market.
Rival flooring firm Carpetright posted an 11% fall in annual profits last week after total sales slipped more than 2%.
But both firms said the trend was improving as a recovery in the housing market boosted sales of flooring.
