Home Retail Group ups forecasts but Argos slumps
HOME retail Group – which owns Argos and Homebase – has tipped its pre-tax profit for the year
to come in at £290m
The figure is slightly ahead of market forecasts for the year to 27 February.
Argos sales fell 9.4 per cent while sales at its home improvement operation Homebase declined 0.6 per cent in the eight weeks to the end of the financial year.
Chief executive Terry Duddy said: “Group benchmark profit before tax for the year will be around £290m, slightly ahead of current market expectations.
“This is a good outcome to a challenging year, and is combined with excellent cash generation. The final short trading period reported today saw volatile trading patterns, making it difficult to assess any changes in underlying consumer demand.”