Carpetright floored by profit forecasts

Floor coverings firm Carpetright dealt a major blow to profit expectations yesterday after reporting little respite from grim trading conditions.

The group said like-for-like sales in the UK and Ireland fell 7.7 per cent in the 13 weeks to 29 January, a period covering December's snow disruption but also easier comparisons with the freezing weather seen in January 2010. Carpetright warned profits for the year to April will be lower than market expectations of 26.3 million.