Tapi saw a £10m turnaround in profitability last year.
The flooring chain saw a pre-tax loss of £5,261,582 become a profit of £5,433,341, as sales grew by 37.7% to £137.4m in the year to 25 December 2021.
In 2019 the loss was £17.5m.
Cash rose by 26% to £27.19m.
After increasing gross margin by 3.3 points to 59.5% in 2020, it rose by a further 4.8 points to 64.3%.
In common with all retailers, its financial results and performance were impacted by the pandemic; government support, including business rate relief and furlough payments; and rent concessions.
Support rose by £1.08m to £3.849m but in contrast store lease costs rose from £16.4m to £21.89m as Covid related rent concessions fell from £5.4m to £1.86m.
Staff numbers grew from 695 to 841.
‘Continued investment post-period end in digital and instore attraction and customer experience, alongside further new store openings have resulted in positive revenue growth in the first half of 2022. As we have seen across the board in consumer facing business, consumer confidence in Q2 onwards has been impacted by inflation and uncertainty over household bills and fuel costs. Growth in the period Q2 onwards has slowed compared to Q1 but is ahead of reported market trends for DIY and homewares and gaining share of market. Despite the impact of rising inflation and low consumer confidence, the board expects revenue in 2022 to finish ahead of the prior year,’ says James Sturrock, Tapi ceo.
In recent days the company has continued its policy of small-scale purchases of its 47,364,022 shares with more than a dozen transactions.
