News: United Carpets increase profits

Rotherham-based United Carpets, the second largest chain of specialist retail carpet and floor covering stores in the UK, has seen an increase in sales and profit for the year ended March 31 2011.

In difficult trading conditions, the company saw network sales increase by 2.4% to £71.6m (2010: £69.9m). Revenue was level at £27.5m and profit before tax increased by 13.2% to £1.243m (2010: £1.098m).

With their head office at Bramley, United Carpets has 86 branded stores across Northern and Central England, four more than last year.

With the majority of stores operating under the group's franchise model, the business benefits from the entrepreneurial drive and motivation of the individual store owners which, the company believe, is a critical advantage over more traditional retail networks.

The majority of group revenues are derived from the sale of floor coverings, predominantly carpet, laminate and vinyl flooring through franchised stores and corporate stores. Similar to the overall performance of the group, sales from this division were weaker throughout the first three quarters of the year, but started to recover in the last quarter.

Paul Eyre, chief executive at United Carpets, said: "In the context of the current market environment, this was a resilient performance slightly ahead of market expectations. We continue to attract customers into our stores by offering good quality products at prices that represent real value for money. As a result, the group saw a small increase in network sales and subsequent increase in profitability.

"Coupled with a healthy balance sheet, the business is well positioned to continue to develop its network of franchised stores and increase its share of the flooring and beds market, alongside any improvement in trading conditions."

United Carpets website

Images: unitedcarpetsandbeds.com