Flooring group Victoria has issued a profit warning, with the group set to miss forecasts by more than 14%.
The group says sales decline had slowed in Q3 but a weak first half of January saw the picture worsen.
‘The year-on-year revenue trend in Q3 improved showing a c3% decline vs c7% decline in H1. Lower shipment volumes as the rugs business transitions manufacturing from Belgium to Turkey accounted for over half of the revenue decline in Q3. This was partially offset by ongoing market share gains and customer wins in UK carpets, and a strong performance in Australia in particular. Excluding rugs, year-on-year revenue declined approximately 1.5% in Q3,’ it says.
‘Trading in the first half of January, however, was significantly impacted by weak consumer confidence and weak footfall at our end customers due to geopolitical events across our key markets: western Europe; North America and the UK. Whilst recent weeks have shown improvements in trading, the board now expects Q4 revenue to be below its previous expectations and approximately 5% below FY25.’
Analysts had forecast £1.064bn in sales.
‘As a result, the board expects post-IFRS16 Ebitda to be approximately £95m for FY26 as a whole.’ This compares with the previous forecast of £110.7m.
It says that progress is being made in cutting costs and further cost-cutting has been identified.
‘The first targeted property sales are progressing well, and additional potential property sales have been identified,’ it adds.
‘The board and business recognises the need to continue to adapt to the lower volume environment and drive efficiency improvements ahead of both domestic and international competition within its local markets.
‘Increased rigor in tracking these improvements is being implemented along with broader governance improvements, and further detail of these initiatives will be provided in due course.’
