17th Jan 2007 07:00
Home Retail Group Plc17 January 2007 17 January 2007 Home Retail Group plc Q3 Trading Update Home Retail Group, the UK's leading home and general merchandise retailer, todayannounces details on trading for the 14 weeks to 6 January 2007. Terry Duddy, Chief Executive Officer of Home Retail Group, said: "Our trading approach in the period reflected an expectation of the generalmerchandise market becoming more difficult. A less promotional stance, togetherwith good operational control, proved successful in a market that showed littleor no growth until just before Christmas. We expect profits for the full year atboth Argos and Homebase to be around the top of analyst expectations. Lookingforward, the retail environment is likely to remain challenging and we continueto position our businesses accordingly." % change in sales year-on-year Q3 Year to Date ArgosLike-for-like change in sales 0.2 2.3Net new space contribution to sales change 4.1 5.7Total sales change 4.3 8.0 HomebaseLike-for-like change in sales (2.9) (2.8)Net new space contribution to sales change 2.7 3.6Total sales change (0.2) 0.8 ArgosArgos grew its total sales by 4.3% in the quarter, of which new spacecontributed 4.1%. There were eight new stores opened in the period, bringing thetotal to 681. There was good growth in electrical goods overall. This was driven by furtherstrong sales of televisions and video game systems, partially offset by weakerperformances in other electrical goods categories. Jewellery, which has a highersales mix in the third quarter, continued to be weak. Argos' multi-channel leadership continues to build. Total Internet sales grew37% in the quarter and represented 19% of total sales. Of this, 11% of totalsales were Internet reservations that were collected in store, with theremaining 8% being Internet orders for home delivery. Gross margin was slightly ahead of last year. A negative product mix impact wasmore than offset by continued supply chain gains and a less promotional stance. HomebaseHomebase's total sales declined by 0.2% in the quarter. The contribution tosales growth from net new space was 2.7%, with a net two new stores opened inthe period to bring the total to 307. The planned reduced level of promotional activity, together with toughcomparables, resulted in lower big ticket sales compared to a year ago.Offsetting much of the decline were good performances from housewares categoriesincluding lighting, as well as from home security, paint and flooring. Gross margin was strongly ahead of last year. This was driven by furtherbenefits from supply chain initiatives, together with the planned lowerpromotional activity. Enquiries Analysts and investors (Home Retail Group)Richard Ashton Finance Director 01908 600 291Stuart Ford Head of Investor Relations Press (Finsbury)Rollo Head 020 7251 3801Alice Macandrew There will be a conference call for analysts and investors to discuss thisupdate at 7.30am this morning. The call can be listened to live on the HomeRetail Group website www.homeretailgroup.com. An indexed replay will also beavailable on the website later in the day. Home Retail Group's next trading update will be on 14 March 2007, reporting theremaining eight week period to 3 March 2007. This is Home Retail Group's newyear end, as previously announced. Restated sales and profits for the 52 weeksto 4 March 2006 will also be provided at the time of the trading update. Certain statements made in this announcement are forward looking statements.Such statements are based on current expectations and are subject to a number ofrisks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differmaterially from any expected future events or results referred to in theseforward looking statements. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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