Victoria Carpet Reports Rising Profits

London, England, June 18, 2008--Carpet maker Victoria said annual pre-tax profit rose 27 percent following a strong performance at its Australian operations.

Pre-tax profit rose to $6.85 million for the 52 weeks ended March 29, while group revenue increased 11.3 percent to $120.6 million.

The group, which underwent substantial boardroom changes last year, including the appointment of Ian Davies as finance director, said carpet sales within the UK were up 6.8 percent.

Chairman Alexander Anton noted, "The difficulty of the current markets is real and is the backdrop against which we have developed our growth plans."

Anton added that he believes the group is well placed to weather "the difficulty of the current markets and the consequential doom and gloom."