The Home Retail Group has seen a drop in its yearly profit of just below 10%.
The group who own Argos and Homebase have posted full year profits of £265.2m which was expected as the group had posted a profit warning last month, the company has said revenue had fallen 2.8% to £5.85bn and the cash gross margin dropped 4% to £2.18bn. Last year they saw a profit of £292.9m however the DIY market that Homebase competes in has been shrinking.
A large proportion of the Home Retail Group’s business is moving in to online retail, reaching almost half of all sales in the case of Argos. Argos is all so launching a shopping channel to compete in the home buyer market.
The group have also cut the costs of distribution and operation by 3%. Share prices remain around the 200p mark with a rise of 5% in early trading.
Home Retail Group chairman Oliver Stocken said:
“Economic uncertainty and a low level of consumer confidence continue to adversely impact customer spending patterns, despite these challenges, the group continues to build on its strategic advantages to ensure that it will be well-positioned for the economic recovery over the longer term.”
Filed under: Business
