Home Retail profit in line with market
Sales decline at Argos unit begins to ease
London: Home Retail Group, owner of the Homebase do-it-yourself chain, said profit for the year ended last month is "in line with current market expectations" after a sales decline eased at the Argos catalogue unit.
Revenue at Argos outlets open at least a year fell 8.5 per cent in the eight weeks ended February 25, the Milton Keynes, England based retailer said in a statement. That compares with the previous quarter's 8.8 per cent drop.
Sales on the same basis were down 6.5 per cent at the Homebase chain, worse than a 2.6 per cent decline in the prior quarter and missing the average analyst estimate of a 4.4 per cent drop.
The retailer blamed continued weakness in consumer electronics for the decline at Argos, while a drop in big-ticket sales hurt revenues at Homebase.
The average analyst estimates for annual pretax profit was £97 million (Dh564.56 million), according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In January, the retailer guided for annual earnings to be in the middle of estimates that ranged from £78 million to £125 million.
