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REG - Topps Tiles - Interim Financial Report

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RNS Number : 2695A  Topps Tiles PLC  23 May 2023

23 May 2023

Topps Tiles Plc

Interim Financial Report

Record half year sales, profit in line with expectations

Topps Tiles Plc ("Topps Group", the "Company" or the "Group"), the UK's
leading tile specialist, announces its unaudited consolidated interim
financial results for the 26 weeks ended 1 April 2023.

 

Strategic and Operational Highlights

 •    Record six-month period for sales of £130.3 million, up 9.3% year on year
 •    Record first half for sales in the Topps Tiles brand, driven by nationwide
      store coverage, world class customer service, and strong omni-channel
      capability, with average sales per store up 30% compared to 2019
 •    Strong results in Online Pure Play brands, with exceptional sales growth in
      Pro Tiler Tools
 •    Group growth strategy on track to deliver market share goal of '1 in 5 by
      2025' ahead of schedule
 •    Proud to be celebrating 60 years of trading since the first Topps Tiles store
      opened in Sale, Manchester in 1963, in a developed and diversified Group

 

Financial Highlights

                                                    26 weeks ended   26 weeks ended   YoY
                                                    1 April 2023     2 April 2022
                                                    (H1 2023)        (H1 2022)

                                                                     (restated(5))
 Adjusted Measures
 Topps Tiles like-for-like revenue year-on-year(1)  4.3%             19.7%            n/a
 Adjusted profit before tax(2)                      £4.4 million     £7.1 million     (38.0)%
 Adjusted earnings per share(3)                     1.57p            2.83p            (44.5)%
 Adjusted net cash at period end(4)                 £19.9 million    £13.4 million    £6.5 million

 Statutory Measures
 Group revenue                                      £130.3 million   £119.2 million   9.3%
 Gross profit                                       £68.7 million    £66.9 million    2.7%
 Gross margin %                                     52.8%            56.1%            (3.3) ppts
 Profit before tax                                  £1.7 million     £5.6 million     (69.6)%
 Basic earnings per share                           0.25p            2.14p            (88.3)%
 Interim dividend per share                         1.2p             1.0p             20.0%

 

Financial Summary

 •    Group revenue up 9.3% to £130.3 million
 •    Group gross profit up 2.7% to £68.7 million
 •    Group gross margin lower at 52.8%, due to rapid growth in Pro Tiler Tools,
      which operates at a lower gross margin, and adverse FX movements
 •    Gross margin percentage within the Topps Tiles brand starting to increase as
      shipping and gas prices normalise
 •    Adjusted profit before tax of £4.4 million, down 38.0% as previously guided,
      following adverse exchange rate movements and the impact of inflation on
      operating expenses
 •    H1 profits were also impacted by a non-cash holiday pay accrual of £0.9
      million which will reverse in full in H2
 •    Cash increased £6.5 million against H1 2022, with strong operating cash flows
      and positive working capital movements
 •    Robust balance sheet with £19.9 million net cash and £49.9 million headroom
      within committed borrowing facilities
 •    Interim dividend of 1.2 pence declared (H1 2022: 1.0 pence)

 

Current Trading and Outlook

 •    Like-for-like sales in Topps Tiles over the first seven weeks of the second
      half were up 4.1% on an underlying basis, with a negative impact of about 1.3
      percentage points due to the additional bank holiday, giving overall
      like-for-like sales growth of 2.8%
 •    Previous well-documented headwinds in supply chain, inflation and recruitment
      are now easing, strengthening our confidence in the gross margin and trading
      outlook for the second half
 •    Profit in second half expected to increase materially, driven by the growth of
      our new businesses, improving gross margins, as well as gas costs reducing and
      holiday pay accruals reversing, giving confidence that we will perform in line
      with current market expectations for the year as a whole(6)
 •    Our strategy is delivering, leaving us well-positioned to deliver our market
      share goal of '1 in 5 by 2025' ahead of schedule

 

Commenting on the results, Rob Parker, Chief Executive said:

"As we mark our 60(th) anniversary, we are pleased to be reporting record
first half revenue for the Topps Group, reflecting our successful development
and diversification as we strengthen our position as the UK's leading tile
specialist.  Our Topps Tiles brand delivered a further period of robust
like-for-like sales growth, with Pro Tiler Tools achieving another exceptional
performance, to maintain its strong track record since acquisition in 2022.

 

"As expected, our first half profitability reflects the impact of inflation
year on year, including significantly increased energy costs, and a number of
other one offs.  These effects are now reducing or will reverse in full in
the second half, underpinning our confidence in a much stronger profit
performance in the balance of the year.  Our strong trading, when combined
with our successful strategy, world class customer service, leading product
offer and strong balance sheet, gives us increasing confidence in our
outlook.  We remain confident that we are on track to hit our 20% market
share target ahead of schedule."

 

Notes

(1)Topps Tiles like-for-like revenue is defined as sales from online and Topps
Tiles stores that have been trading for more than 52 weeks.  In H1 2023
like-for-like revenue was £115.3 million (H1 2022: £111.9 million), with an
average of 304 stores included in the weekly calculation.

(2) Adjusted profit before tax excludes the impact of items which are either
one-off in nature or fluctuate significantly from year to year. See the
financial review section of this document for a reconciliation to statutory
profit before tax.

(3) Adjusted earnings per share is adjusted for the items highlighted above,
plus the impact of corporation tax.  See note 5 of the financial statements.

(4) Adjusted net cash is defined as cash and cash equivalents, less bank
loans, before unamortised issue costs as at the balance sheet date.  It
excludes lease liabilities under IFRS 16.

(5) Prior year values are restated throughout this document following the
adoption of the IFRIC agenda decision in relation to configuration and
customisation expenditure relating to cloud computing arrangements.  See note
1 to the accounts for more information.  The impact on adjusted profit before
tax in H1 2022 was £0.1 million and the impact on statutory profit before tax
was £nil.

(6) Current market expectations as of 22 May 2023 are a range of £10.6
million to £12.3 million of adjusted profit before tax, with a consensus of
£11.5 million.

 

For further information please contact:

 

 Topps Tiles Plc           (23/5/23) 020 7638 9571
 Rob Parker, CEO           (Thereafter) 0116 282 8000

 Stephen Hopson, CFO

 Citigate Dewe Rogerson    020 7638 9571
 Kevin Smith/Ellen Wilton

 

INTERIM MANAGEMENT REPORT

Topps Group is the largest specialist distributor of tiles and related
products in the UK. The majority of our revenues are generated from the
domestic market for the renovation, maintenance and improvement (RMI) of UK
homes, through our market-leading Topps Tiles brand. Over recent years, the
business has diversified and expanded into the commercial tile market, which
approximately doubled the size of our addressable market while staying within
our core specialism of tiles. The commercial market includes tiles supplied
for both new build and refurbishment of commercial premises across sectors
such as leisure, transport, retail and office buildings, and new build
residential housing. In 2022, the Group was developed further, with the
addition of the Pro Tiler Tools and Tile Warehouse brands, both of which focus
on the Online Pure Play market.

 

All of the brands within the Group derive benefit from the scale of the
business, the specialist focus of our business model and our passion for
tiles. We enjoy a competitive advantage in sourcing differentiated products
from around the world that we can access on an exclusive basis and deliver
world class customer service through our store network, award-winning digital
platforms and commercial sales teams. We aim to lead the tile market in
environmental matters, including our goal of being carbon neutral across scope
1 and 2 emissions by 2030, or earlier.

 

STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL UPDATE

The core purpose of Topps Group is to inspire customers through our love of
tiles. This gives us a very clear focus on our specialism in tiles and
associated products and encourages all our colleagues to be passionate about
the products we sell. It also puts our customers at the heart of what we do
and reminds us that all roles in the Group are either serving customers
directly or supporting those colleagues that are. We are making good progress
towards the achievement of our market share goal of '1 in 5 by 2025' and this
is supported by our growth strategy, with each of our main business areas,
Topps Tiles, Parkside and Online Pure Play, supported by our Group strategies
of Leading Product, Leading People and Environmental Leadership.

 

2023 is the 60(th) anniversary of the first Topps Tiles store opening in Sale,
Manchester in 1963 and we are pleased to have delivered a record six-month
period for sales in this anniversary year.

 

Leading Product

As the UK's leading tile specialist, our expertise in the ranging, sourcing
and procurement of tiles on a global basis is a core part of our competitive
advantage. The last three years have seen us leverage this advantage
significantly, as we have resourced multiple ranges from around the world in
response to volatile conditions in the tile supply chain. As a result, we have
continued to maintain competitive cost prices whilst securing good inventory
availability to support the high levels of demand in the business. Supply
chain pressures now appear to be reducing, with shipping and gas prices
falling and availability of tile supply improving.

 

The ability of Topps Group to introduce new, exclusive products continues to
be central to our Leading Product strategy.  In the first half of the year,
we introduced 32 new products into Topps Tiles (H1 2022: 13 new products),
with over a third of these ranges developed by Topps Group, as well as new
ranges across Tile Warehouse and Parkside. Within Pro Tiler Tools, the
introduction of new trade-focused brands such as Kubala tools continues to
drive growth and provide an unrivalled trade product offer. Trade brand
authority continues to be a major focus for Topps Group, with over 50
proprietary and owned brands for tilers to choose from across the Group.

 

A highlight has been the continued success of new product categories in Topps
Tiles, such as outdoor tiles, luxury vinyl tiles (LVT), and large format
tiles, which have delivered significant growth year on year. Owned brands such
as Excel Bond, Dex, Rise and Regenr8 now contribute over £30 million of sales
and are portable across the Group's various trading entities.

 

Leading People

Our performance across all of our businesses is underpinned by world-class
customer service, delivered through engaged and highly skilled colleagues.
Vacancy rates fell across the first half and overall staff turnover is now
34.0% (H1 2022: 37.8%).  Staff turnover across Topps Tiles store managers has
fallen substantially, which is particularly important given the critical role
that these colleagues play in delivering our customer experience across our
store network. A significant driver of the improvement year on year has been
our focus on recruiting the right people into the business through an improved
recruitment and induction process, as well as lessening of pressure in the
employment market more generally.

 

Our focus on wellbeing continues, with a particular emphasis on mental health.
In the first half, in partnership with Mental Health First Aid England, our 64
mental health first aiders were trained or reaccredited, including colleagues
from Pro Tiler Tools, and line manager training on mental health has been
rolled out across the organisation. Our corporate partnership with Alzheimer's
Society, which commenced in 2022, is gathering momentum and we have raised
over £150k to date in support of this important cause. Both customers and
colleagues continue to give generously through micro donations and fund
raising.

 

Diversity and inclusion represents an ever increasing area of importance for
our business and, following a focus on increasing the accuracy of our data in
the first half, we are preparing to roll out our D&I strategy in the
second half, which will include colleague engagement, recruitment processes
and the creation of colleague resource groups.

 

Delivering great service depends on an ongoing investment into the capability
of our people. In the first half, we have made good steps forward, including
utilising the Apprentice Levy to support our training programmes, with 15
store managers and 15 deputy managers now enrolled on our Retail Management
qualification, accredited by the Institute of Leadership and Management, to
support their development through the organisation. We also retain our focus
on sales training for colleagues in stores, as well as our senior management
development programme.

 

Environmental Leadership

Our environmental leadership strategy is based around two pillars: carbon
neutrality and supporting circularity. Our goal is to be carbon balanced
across scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030, or earlier, and we have partnered with
the World Land Trust to support this objective. Parkside, our Commercial
business, is already carbon neutral. The Group's total scope 1 and 2 emissions
are currently approximately 4,800 tonnes per annum. Following the actions
reported in last year's annual report, this year we have installed solar
panels on the roof of our head office and main distribution centre, which
should reduce electricity usage on these sites by approximately 70% and save
approximately 340,000 kWh of electricity per annum. Our environmental focus is
now switching to measuring our scope 3 emissions, which is a significant
challenge due to the complexity of our global supply chain.  Scope 3 will be
an order of magnitude higher than scope 1 and 2 emissions, and we are
currently selecting a partner to help us with this exercise. We have committed
to report scope 3 emissions as part of our TCFD reporting by the end of 2024.

 

Supporting circularity is largely about minimising waste and recycling, as
well as product and packaging innovation and sourcing.  A major target this
year, which forms part of the Group's strategic objectives and therefore
executive remuneration, is to reduce tile waste by 10% and performance in the
first half is in line with the delivery of this goal.

 

Omnichannel: Topps Tiles

Topps Tiles is our market leading, omni-channel specialist business, which
serves the domestic RMI market and has significant opportunities for
profitable growth.

 

Sales continue to perform well, with like-for-like sales growth in the first
half of 4.3%. This resulted in a record first half year performance for the
brand with revenue of £115.8 million. Average sales per store are now up 30%
compared to the pre-pandemic period as a result of our successful store
rationalisation programme which saw customers transfer from closed stores, as
well as significant underlying sales growth. The rationalisation programme was
completed at the end of the last financial year and we believe that the
current store estate of 304 stores, offering nationwide coverage, is
approximately the right size moving forward, meaning that like-for-like sales
growth will broadly mirror total sales growth in future years.

 

Our customer mix continues to be a mix of professional trade customers and
homeowners. The relationship between the two groups is very close - often a
professional installer will use a Topps Tiles store as an extension of their
own workspace, visiting the store with the customer or simply referring them
to us. However, the way the professional trader and the homeowner use the
various parts of the omni-channel Topps Tiles offer can be quite different.

 

Homeowners will almost always use both our award-winning website and the store
as part of their purchasing journey. We know that 98% of customers will use a
store at some point, either to see the product, engage with our teams for
advice, inspiration, service or aftersales, or to collect their order at a
time convenient for them. In addition, almost all customers will use the
website for research, to order samples or to place their order. Online sales
made up 18% of tile sales to homeowners in the period, up from 9% in 2015 and
comparable to other retailers in our industry, and we continue to invest in
incremental improvements to our digital platforms.

 

For professional trade customers, a dedicated website and trade app is
available, as well as key digital services such as click and collect. However,
trade customers retain a very strong preference for the physical store, with
strong relationships built on trust and high levels of technical advice and
service. Trade customers can offer high levels of repeat custom and we focus
on offering price competitiveness, a loyalty scheme and excellent
representation from key trade focused brands. Trade customers made up 59% of
sales in Topps Tiles in the first half (H1 2022: 58%) and, as such, Topps
Tiles is more of a merchant than a retail business. For trade customers and
contractors, Topps Tiles offers a dedicated direct sales operation which
continues to deliver excellent growth. Supported from a central team, this
operation grew sales by 23% year on year to £7.0 million in the first half
and we continue to believe this model offers further growth opportunities.

 

As well as financial performance, our key measure of success is customer
satisfaction, which we measure through our Tile Talk surveys. Overall
satisfaction increased again in the first half, by 1.7 percentage points,
meaning that 91.3% of the 8,500 surveys completed in the half year rated Topps
Tiles as 5 star for overall satisfaction. In addition, 6.8% of the survey
responses scored the business as 4-star, and just 1.9% of respondents rated
the business as 3-star or lower. Our data suggests that this performance is
genuinely world-class, and scores higher than a number of other leading
consumer-facing brands (source: the United Kingdom Customer Service Institute,
Jan 2023).

 

The Topps Tiles store estate has remained at 304 trading stores over the
course of the first half year, with two relocations completed, at Guildford
and Aintree. Our three store formats - superstores (37 stores), core stores
(253 stores) and clearance (14 stores) continue to offer the most relevant
offer for the local catchment and physical site.  We retain a flexible
property portfolio, with an average unexpired lease term to the next break
opportunity of 2.9 years (H1 2022: 3.2 years), or 2.7 years excluding
strategically important stores (H1 2022: 2.9 years). Following the conclusion
of the store rationalisation programme, we had 8 closed Topps Tiles stores at
the end of the trading period, reduced from 11 at the start of the financial
year, and expect to exit a further 3 stores by year end.

 

Topps Tiles continues to perform very strongly, with world-class service and a
leading product offer, an increasing trade mix, a right-sized store estate,
and further opportunities for growth in the period ahead.

 

Commercial: Parkside

Parkside is a specialist tile distributor, aimed at architects, designers and
contractors in the commercial market. Becoming part of Topps Group in 2017,
Parkside is now a top-five competitor within the sector.

 

After five consecutive years of sequential sales growth, Parkside has
experienced a tougher period of trading. The market remains substantially
smaller when compared to the pre-covid period. Sales were down £0.4 million
year-on-year to £4.6 million in the first half year due to delays in projects
from key clients. With performance below expectations, a business improvement
plan has been launched.

 

The commercial market for tiles, which is almost the same size as the domestic
RMI market, is an important part of our B2B operations and as such remains a
strategic priority for Topps Group.

 

Online Pure Play: Pro Tiler brands and Tile Warehouse

Our Online Pure Play business now consists of five brands. Four of these (Pro
Tiler Tools, Northants Tools, Premium Tile Trim and Warm Floor Store,
collectively the 'Pro Tiler brands') are trade-focused, digital-only
consumables and tools brands, operated by the Pro Tiler management team. Tile
Warehouse is a homeowner-orientated, value-focused, digital-only tiles
business, offering a complimentary positioning to Topps Tiles.

 

Performance has been exceptionally strong in the first half, with excellent
sales growth and net margin in line with our expectations. The Pro Tiler
brands have delivered year on year growth in excess of 40% (including the
pre-acquisition period in the comparative period) as a result of exceptionally
strong customer focus (average review score 4.8/5 as of May 2023), further
extensions of trade brands, and investments in marketing and stock. In the
first half, the newest brand launched, warmfloorstore.co.uk, specialising in
wet and dry underfloor heating products, including industry-leading brands
such as WarmUp, Schluter and Devi. Further opportunities for material growth
exist within these brands and from further new brand launches. We believe the
Pro Tiler brands collectively represent in excess of a £30 million sales
opportunity for the Group.

 

Tile Warehouse provides an entry into the £100m online pure play tile market,
with a range of quality tiles at very competitive price points, leveraging the
Group's scale, supplier relationships, digital expertise and financial
resources. In its first year, the focus has been on refining the technical
proposition and building the digital strategy and customer offer. We believe
that this business provides an opportunity to deliver sales of £15 million
within a five-year time frame, but will require investment, primarily in
digital marketing, in the initial stages.

 

Key Performance Indicators

As set out in our most recent Annual Report, we monitor our performance
implementing our strategy with reference to a clearly defined set of financial
and non-financial key performance indicators ("KPIs"). Our performance in the
26 weeks to 1 April 2023 is set out in the table below, together with the
prior year performance data. The source of data and calculation methods are
consistent with those used in the 2022 Annual Report. Further information on
adjusted performance measures can be found on page 2.

 

                                                      26 weeks to     26 weeks to     YoY
                                                      1 April         2 April
                                                      2023            2022
                                                                      (restated(5))
 Financial KPIs
 Group revenue growth year-on-year                    9.3%            15.5%           n/a
 Topps Tiles like-for-like sales growth year-on-year  4.3%            19.7%           n/a
 Group gross margin                                   52.8%           56.1%           (3.3) ppts
 Adjusted profit before tax                           £4.4 million    £7.1 million    (38.0)%
 Adjusted earnings per share                          1.57 pence      2.83 pence      (44.5)%
 Adjusted net cash                                    £19.9 million   £13.4 million   £6.5 million
 Inventory days                                       117             127             (10) days

 Non-financial KPIs
 Topps Tiles customer overall satisfaction score      91.3%           89.6%           1.7 ppts
 Colleague turnover                                   34.0%           37.8%           (3.8) ppts
 Number of Topps Tiles stores at year end             304             312             (8)

 

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss

Sales growth in the period was strong, with total Group sales up 9.3% to
£130.3 million in the first half, representing a record six-month trading
period for the Group. Within this, the Topps Tiles brand delivered
like-for-like sales growth of 4.3% against H1 2022, which was itself an
extremely strong trading period with sales +22.7% on a two-year like-for-like
basis. As a result, average sales per store in Topps Tiles were 30% higher in
the first half of FY 2023 than the pre-pandemic period of 2019.  Sales in
Parkside were down £0.4 million, and sales in Online Pure Play were
exceptionally strong, driven by the ongoing success of Pro Tiler Tools.
Revenue consolidated into the Group accounts by business area was as follows:

 

 Revenue by brand (£m)   H1 2023  H1 2022  Variance
 Topps Tiles             115.8    113.1    +2.4%
 Parkside                4.6      5.0      -8.0%
 Online Pure Play*       9.9      1.1      +800%
 Topps Group             130.3    119.2    +9.3%

*Online Pure Play includes Pro Tiler Tools and its associated brands, which
were acquired in March 2022, and Tile Warehouse, which was launched in May
2022.

This strong sales growth, partly driven by the acquisition of Pro Tiler Tools
last year, also reflects the success of our growth strategy, as we continue to
progress towards the delivery of our goal of accounting for £1 in every £5
spend across the UK market for tiles and related products by 2025 ('1 in 5 by
2025'). With our market share increasing to 19.0% in 2022 (2021: 17.6%), we
are confident that we will achieve our goal ahead of schedule. We will provide
a further update on our progress towards our target in our 2023 full year
results, following the publication of the latest independent market research
reports.

 

Overall, we estimate that 63% of sales in the Group were made to trade or
professional customers in the period (H1 2022: 60%), with 37% of sales made
direct to homeowners (H1 2022: 40%), which is important given the high levels
of repeat custom that trade and professional customers can offer.

 

The Group's gross margin of 52.8% was down 3.3 percentage points against H1
2022, with 2.1 percentage points of the decline due to business mix changes,
specifically the rapid growth in Online Pure Play which operates at a
structurally lower gross margin than the rest of the Group, 1.0 percentage
point due to mark-to-market movements on foreign currency transactions and
retranslation of monetary items, and 0.2 percentage points due to changes in
the margins in individual brands. The mark-to-market and retranslation
movements in the period were unusually large, caused by the revaluation of our
forward currency contracts, under which we contract to buy foreign currency in
advance of our requirements. As the pound recovered from its lows against the
dollar and euro in late September 2022, these contracts are revalued,
resulting in a significant non-cash charge in the first half. In addition,
monetary items such as foreign currency and trade payables are revalued based
on the exchange rates in place at the end of the trading period.

 

The gross margin within Topps Tiles, which has been impacted in recent years
by inflationary pressures, product and customer mix movements and the
introduction of new product categories, improved modestly over the period as
inflationary pressures abated or in some cases reversed. We are confident that
the gross margin within the Topps Tiles brand will increase sequentially in
the second half year compared to the first half.

 

Operating costs were £64.9 million compared to £59.3 million in H1 2022.
Excluding adjusting items which are explained below, operating expenses
increased by £4.3 million compared to the prior year period to £62.1
million, explained by the following key items:

 

                                                                £ million
 HY 2022 adjusted operating expenses (restated)                 57.8
 Increased utilities expense (gas)                              0.6
 Other inflation                                                2.2
 Reduced store space (304 stores on average vs 314 in HY 2022)  (1.1)
 Online Pure Play including Pro Tiler Tools brand amortisation  2.6
                                                                62.1

 HY 2023 adjusted operating expenses

In line with our expectations, the high levels of inflationary costs
(approximately 5% operating cost inflation, across utilities costs, employment
costs, property costs and other expenses) have impacted profit in the first
half. As previously noted, we have been able to offset some but not all of
these costs through our smaller store estate and efficiency programmes.

 

The first half contains a non-cash expense of £0.9 million relating to
holiday pay accruals (H1 2022: £0.7 million expense), which will reverse in
full over the second half of the financial year (resulting in a £1.8 million
increase in half-on-half profits); and in addition, gas usage in the business
will also reduce substantially in the second half, leading to a smaller
adjusted cost base in the second half compared to the first half year. The
Forward Guidance section below sets out in more detail some of the factors
influencing operating costs in H2 compared to H1.

 

Adjusted net finance costs increased from £1.9 million in H1 2022 to £2.2
million in H1 2023 as a result of increased IFRS 16 lease interest costs and
the unwind of various discounted balance sheet liabilities.

As a result of the above, and in line with our expectations, adjusted profit
before tax for the period was £4.4 million (H1 2022 restated: £7.1 million),
however profitability in the second half is expected to be substantially
higher.

 

Looking further forward, we expect cost inflation to start to reduce, with the
exception of our utilities expense, where at the end of this financial year
the Group will exit its current fixed price contracts. Based on forward
utilities contract pricing, we currently expect our energy costs across gas
and electricity to increase by approximately £0.5 million in FY 2024 compared
to the current financial year, with significant increases in electricity
pricing compared to our current two-year contract more than offsetting the
recent falls in the gas price.

 

Adjusting items

The Group's management uses adjusted performance measures, to plan for,
control and assess the performance of the Group. Adjusted profit before tax
differs from the statutory profit before tax as it excludes the effect of
one-off or fluctuating items, allowing stakeholders to understand results
across years in a more consistent manner. In line with prior years, we
continue to adjust for any impairment charges or impairment reversals of right
of use assets, derecognition of lease liabilities where we have exited a
store, and one-off gains and losses through sub-lets. We have also excluded
property costs in relation to store closures which formed part of the store
rationalisation programme which ended in FY 2022. Property costs relating to
store closures moving forward will form part of adjusted profit. In the period
2022 - 2024 we will exclude the cost relating to the 40% purchase of shares of
Pro Tiler Limited which we expect to make from March 2024, which, under IFRS
3, is treated as a remuneration expense rather than an acquisition cost.
Please see the 2022 Annual Financial Results statement for a full description
of this transaction and its accounting treatment.

 

An analysis of movements from adjusted profit before tax to statutory profit
before tax is given below:

                                                                         H1 2023 £m   H1 2022 £m

                                                                                      (restated(5))
 Adjusted profit before tax                                              4.4          7.1

 Property
 Vacant property and closure costs                                       (0.7)        (1.0)
 Impairment of property, plant and equipment                             nil          (0.1)
 Right-of-use asset impairment and lease exit gains and losses           0.1          0.2
                                                                         (0.6)        (0.9)
 Business development
 Pro Tiler Limited share purchase provision                              (1.7)        (0.2)
 Tile Warehouse set up costs and Pro Tiler Limited acquisition expenses  nil          (0.4)
 Restructuring and other one-off costs                                   (0.4)        nil
                                                                         (2.1)        (0.6)

 Statutory profit before tax                                             1.7          5.6

 

The effective tax rate for the 26 weeks to 1 April 2023 was 58.1% (H1 2022:
25.4%). Tax rates are based on expectations for the full year and then
adjusted for the impact of items which are not deductible for corporation tax
purposes, notably in this half year by the Pro Tiler Limited share purchase
provision increase. On an adjusted basis, the effective tax rate for the
period was 24.7% (H1 2022: 22.1%), with the year-on-year increase reflecting
the increase in the main rate of UK corporation tax from 19% to 25% as of 1
April 2023.

 

Basic earnings per share were 0.25 pence (H1 2022: 2.14 pence). Adjusting for
the post-tax impact of the adjusting items detailed above, the adjusted basic
earnings per share were 1.57 pence (H1 2022: 2.83 pence).

 

Dividend

The Group's capital allocation and dividend policy was updated as part of the
Interim Results in 2022. Interim dividends will be set at one third of the
full year dividend from the previous year, and as such, an interim dividend of
1.2 pence has been declared by the Board (H1 2022: 1.0 pence). The shares will
trade ex-dividend on 8 June 2023 and the dividend will be paid on 14 July
2023.

 

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

Capital Expenditure

Capital expenditure in the first half was £2.0 million (H1 2022: £1.0
million). The majority of this expenditure was on the Topps Tiles store
estate, including two store relocations, conversions of four more of our
larger stores to superstore status, and general refurbishment.

 

The Board expects capital expenditure in the full year to be between £5
million and £6 million, including further relocations and merchandising for
new products in the core Topps Tiles stores, together with further investment
into our superstores. Any acquisitions that the Group may consider as part of
its growth plans would be additional to this guidance.

 

Inventory

Inventory at the period end was £38.8 million (H1 2022: £37.0 million)
including £2.7 million held within Pro Tiler Limited, representing 117 stock
days (H1 2021: 127 stock days). At the last year end, inventory was £38.6
million, representing 126 days turnover, with the movement over the half year
explained by a £0.4 million increase in the stock held at Pro Tiler and a
£0.2 million decrease in stock held across the rest of the Group businesses.

 

Consolidated Cash Flow Statement

The Group's cash balance increased in the period by £3.7 million from £16.2
million at year end to £19.9 million at the half year end. The table below
analyses the Group's adjusted cash flow:

                                                                           HY 2023  HY 2022

                                                                                    (restated)(5)
                                                                           £m       £m

 Cash generated by operations, including interest and capital elements of  8.8      9.4
 leases, before WC movements
 Changes in working capital                                                4.2      (10.1)
 Capital expenditure                                                       (2.0)    (1.0)
 Disposals                                                                 -        0.1
 Interest                                                                  -        (0.1)
 Tax                                                                       (2.0)    (2.1)
 Other                                                                     (0.2)    (0.1)
 Free cash flow                                                            8.8      (3.9)

 Acquisition of Pro Tiler Limited, net of cash and debt acquired           -        (4.4)
 Dividends                                                                 (5.1)    (6.1)

 Change in adjusted net cash                                               3.7      (14.4)

 Adjusted net cash at start of period                                      16.2     27.8
 Adjusted net cash at end of period                                        19.9     13.4

 

The strong level of cash generated by operations, combined with a £4.2
million inflow from working capital movements, led to good free cash
generation in the period, and ultimately to an increase in adjusted net cash
of £3.7 million in the first six months of the year, after payment of the
final dividend relating to 2022. The cash generated by operations excludes a
number of non-cash items which reduced profit before tax in the first half,
including a £0.9 million holiday pay accrual, non-cash movements on the value
of foreign currency contracts, an increase in the share purchase provision in
relation to the future purchase of the remaining shares in Pro Tiler Limited
and share option charges. The working capital inflow largely related to
increases in payables, including higher trade payables and a higher VAT
creditor.

 

Return on Capital Employed

Lease adjusted returns on capital employed in the first half were 15.5% (H1
2022: 15.6%), based on the average capital employed over the half and the
annualised profit delivered over the last twelve-month period.

 

Banking Facilities

The Group maintains a very robust balance sheet, providing resilience and
allowing investment in growth opportunities. A £30.0 million revolving credit
facility is in place which is committed to October 2025 with extension options
for a further two years (H1 2022: £39.0 million facility, committed to June
2023). At the half year, none of this facility was drawn (H1 2022: £nil
drawn). Based on net cash excluding lease liabilities of £19.9 million, the
Group has £49.9 million of headroom to its banking facilities at the period
end (H1 2022: £52.4 million).

 

Forward Guidance

The first half year was a period of record sales for the Group, however
profits were impacted by a number of factors described above, principally
inflationary pressure on operating expenses. We have confidence that profits
in the second half will be materially stronger, as a result of the following
factors:

 •    The Group's gas expense has increased from approximately £0.4 million in
      recent years to an estimated £2.4 million this year.  Gas is primarily used
      for heating purposes and therefore disproportionately impacts the colder
      months which fall into the Group's first half.  The gas expense in the first
      half was £1.7 million with an estimated expense in the second half of £0.7
      million, resulting in a £1.0 million increase in half on half profits in the
      second half;
 •    The first half contained a £0.9 million expense relating to holiday pay
      accruals, which will reverse in the second half, resulting in a £1.8 million
      increase in half on half profits in the second half;
 •    Gross margins within Topps Tiles are starting to improve as the cost of
      shipping and production starts to fall and we expect margins within Topps
      Tiles to be sequentially higher in the second half compared to the first half;
 •    Newer parts of the Group are expected to contribute more profit in the second
      half compared to the first half.

 

As a result of these factors, we remain confident that the Group will perform
in line with current market expectations for the year as a whole(6).

 

Current Trading and Outlook

The second half has started well with like-for-like sales in Topps Tiles in
the first seven weeks up 4.1% on an underlying basis, in line with the first
half.  The additional bank holiday reduced like-for-like sales by an
estimated 1.3 percentage points in the period, resulting in overall
like-for-like sales growth in the first seven weeks of 2.8%.

 

Our key areas of focus in previous periods have been managing and reducing
cost inflation, dealing with supply chain challenges and meeting staff
recruitment targets. Whilst we are maintaining a keen focus on all of these
areas moving forward, the near-term pressure from inflation appears to be
abating, we have maintained good levels of inventory throughout the period,
staff turnover is reducing and vacancy levels are slightly below the
longer-term average. As explained in the section above, we expect profit in
the second half to increase materially, and these factors, when combined with
our successful strategy, world class customer service, leading product offer
and strong balance sheet, give us increasing confidence as we look forward.

 

Risks and Uncertainties

The Board continues to monitor the key risks and uncertainties of the Group.
The main risks considered by the Board remain as documented in the 2022 Annual
Report and Accounts. These key risks and uncertainties include: macroeconomic
changes and consumer confidence; inflationary cost increases of products for
resale and not for resale; sustainability and climate change; attracting and
retaining talent / loss of key personnel; cyber security; warehouse capacity;
growth strategy through diversification; global pandemic  including Covid-19;
and global supply chain. Whilst all key risks remain, the Board considers that
the scale of the risks associated with attracting and retaining talent / loss
of key personnel, inflationary cost increases of products for resale and not
for resale, and global supply chains have all reduced since the publication of
that Report.

 

Going concern

When considering the going concern assertion, the Board reviews several
factors including a review of risks and uncertainties, the ability of the
Group to meet its banking covenants and operate within its banking facilities
based on current financial plans, along with a detailed review of more
pessimistic trading scenarios that are deemed severe but plausible. The two
downside scenarios modelled include a moderate decline in sales and a more
severe decline in sales, which result in much lower sales and gross profit
than the base scenario, resulting in worse profit and cash outcomes. The more
severe downside scenario modelled this year was based on a severe prolonged
period of macroeconomic stress in the UK, lasting for more than two years,
with sales falling substantially in each year in our main brand, Topps Tiles,
as well as year-on-year declines in gross margins.

 

The Group has already taken a number of actions to strengthen its liquidity
over the recent years, and the scenarios start from a position of relative
strength. The going concern review also outlined a range of other mitigating
actions that could be taken in a severe but plausible trading scenario. These
included, but were not limited to, savings on store employee costs, savings on
central support costs, reduced marketing activity, a reduction of capital
expenditure, management of working capital and suspension of the dividend. The
Group's cash headroom and covenant compliance was reviewed against current
lending facilities in both the base case and the severe but plausible downside
scenario. The current lending facility was refinanced in October 2022 and
expires at the earliest in October 2025.

 

In all scenarios, the Board has concluded that there is sufficient available
liquidity and covenant headroom for the Group to continue to meet all of its
financial commitments as they fall due for the foreseeable future, a period of
not less than 12 months from the date of this report. Accordingly, the Board
continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial
statements.

 

Responsibility Statement

We confirm that to the best of our knowledge:

(a) the condensed set of financial statements has been prepared in accordance
with IAS 34 'Interim Financial Reporting' as contained in UK-adopted IFRS;

(b) the interim management report includes a fair review of the information
required by DTR 4.2.7R (indication of important events during the first six
months and description of principal risks and uncertainties for the remaining
six months of the year); and

(c) the interim management report includes a fair review of the information
required by DTR 4.2.8R (disclosure of related parties' transactions and
changes therein).

 

 Rob Parker               Stephen Hopson
 Chief Executive Officer  Chief Financial Officer
 23 May 2023

 

 Condensed Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss
 for the 26 weeks ended 1 April 2023

                                                                  26 weeks     Restated*    52 weeks

                                                                               26 weeks
                                                                  ended        ended        ended
                                                                  1 April      2 April      1 October
                                                                  2023         2022         2022

                                                                  £'000        £'000        £'000
                                                            Note  (Unaudited)  (Unaudited)  (Audited)

 Group revenue                                                    130,310      119,222      247,241
 Cost of sales                                                    (61,569)     (52,366)     (111,818)
 Gross profit                                                     68,741       66,856       135,423

 Distribution and selling costs                                   (46,147)     (44,929)     (89,316)
 Other operating expenses                                         (3,634)      (1,549)      (5,953)
 Administrative costs                                             (11,610)     (10,291)     (19,827)
 Sales and marketing costs                                        (3,463)      (2,579)      (5,495)
 Group operating profit                                           3,887        7,508        14,832
 Net finance costs                                                (2,203)      (1,908)      (3,887)
 Profit before taxation                                           1,684        5,600        10,945
 Taxation                                                   3     (978)        (1,422)      (1,754)
 Profit for the period                                            706          4,178        9,191

 Profit is attributable to:
 Owners of Topps Tiles Plc                                        482          4,174        9,005
 Non-controlling interests                                        224          4            186
                                                                  706          4,178        9,191

 All results relate to continuing operations of the Group.

 Earnings per ordinary share
 - Basic                                                    5     0.25p        2.14p        4.60p
 - Diluted                                                  5     0.24p        2.10p        4.55p

 

There are no other recognised gains and losses for the current and preceding
financial periods other than the results shown above. Accordingly, a separate
Condensed Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income has not been
prepared.

 

* See note 1 for an explanation of the prior period restatement.

 

 Condensed Consolidated Statement of Financial Position
 as at 1 April 2023

                                                                                            1 April         Restated*         1 October

                                                                                                            2 April
                                                                                            2023            2022              2022

                                                                                            £'000           £'000             £'000
                                                                                  Note      (Unaudited)     (Unaudited)       (Audited)
 Non-current assets
 Goodwill                                                                                   2,101           2,118             2,101
 Intangible assets                                                                          5,087           5,825             5,423
 Property, plant and equipment                                                              19,998          21,755            20,888
 Other financial assets                                                                     1,700           2,104             1,947
 Deferred tax assets                                                                        152             401               114
 Right-of-use assets                                                                        86,329          91,817            88,545
                                                                                            115,367         124,020           119,018

 Current assets
 Inventories                                                                                38,842          36,989            38,605
 Other financial assets                                                                     487             458               542
 Trade and other receivables                                                                6,002           5,618             6,419
 Current tax asset                                                                          122             -                 -
 Cash and cash equivalents                                                                  19,911          13,415            16,241
                                                                                            65,364          56,480            61,807
 Total assets                                                                               180,731         180,500           180,825

 Current liabilities
 Bank loans                                                                       6         -               (4)               -
 Trade and other payables                                                                   (50,047)        (43,245)          (43,650)
 Lease liabilities                                                                          (17,420)        (19,641)          (18,187)
 Current tax liabilities                                                                    -               (2,461)           (1,152)
 Provisions                                                                                 (346)           (346)             (352)
 Total current liabilities                                                                  (67,813)        (65,697)          (63,341)
 Net current liabilities                                                                    (2,449)         (9,217)           (1,534)
 Non-current liabilities
 Bank loans                                                                       6         -               -                 -
 Lease liabilities                                                                          (82,096)        (86,965)          (84,741)
 Provisions                                                                                 (5,483)         (2,027)           (3,694)
 Total liabilities                                                                          (155,392)       (154,689)         (151,776)
 Net assets                                                                                 25,339          25,811            29,049

 Equity
 Share capital                                                                    8         6,556           6,556             6,556
 Share premium                                                                              2,636           2,636             2,636
 Own shares                                                                                 (192)           (1,216)           (415)
 Merger reserve                                                                             (399)           (399)             (399)
 Share-based payment reserve                                                                5,837           5,053             5,162
 Capital redemption reserve                                                                 20,359          20,359            20,359
 Accumulated losses                                                                         (12,151)        (9,494)           (7,319)
 Capital and reserves attributable to owners of Topps Tiles Plc                             22,646          23,495            26,580

 Non-controlling interests                                                                  2,693           2,316             2,469
 Total equity                                                                               25,339          25,811            29,049

 

* See note 1 for an explanation of the prior period restatement.

 

 Condensed Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

 For the 26 weeks ended 1 April 2023

                 Equity attributable to equity holders of the parent
                                Share    Share    Own      Merger   Share-based payment  Capital redemption  Accum-ulated  Non-controlling  Total
                                capital  premium  shares   reserve  reserve              reserve             losses        interest         equity
                                £'000    £'000    £'000    £'000    £'000                £'000               £'000         £'000            £'000
 Balance at
 1October                                                     6,556    2,636    (415)    (399)    5,162                20,359              (7,319)       2,469            29,049

 2022 (Audited)
 Profit and total comprehensive income
 for the period                                                -        -        -        -        -                    -                   482           224              706

 Issue of share capital                                        -        -        -        -        -                    -                   -             -                -

 Dividends                                                     -        -        -        -        -                    -                   (5,104)       -                (5,104)

 Own shares disposed of in the period                          -        -        223      -        -                    -                   (216)         -                7

 Credit to equity for equity-settled share based payments      -        -        -        -        675                  -                   -             -                675

 Deferred tax on share-based payment transactions              -        -        -        -        -                    -                   6             -                6

 Non-controlling interest on business combination              -        -        -        -        -                    -                   -             -                -
 Balance at
 1April 2023
 (Unaudited)                                                   6,556    2,636    (192)    (399)    5,837                20,359              (12,151)      2,693            25,339

 

 Condensed Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity (continued)

 For the 26 weeks ended 2 April 2022

                              Equity attributable to equity holders of the parent
                              Share     Share     Own       Merger    Share-based payment  Capital redemption  Accum-ulated  Non-controlling  Total
                              capital   premium   shares    reserve   reserve              reserve             losses        interest         equity
                              £'000     £'000     £'000     £'000     £'000                £'000               £'000         £'000            £'000
 Restated* balance at
 2October 2021 (Audited)                                  6,555     2,625     (1,216)   (399)     4,642                20,359              (7,610)       -                24,956
 Profit and total comprehensive income (restated)*
 for the period                                            -         -         -         -         -                    -                   4,174         4                4,178

 Issue of share capital                                    1         11        -         -         -                    -                   -             -                12

 Dividends                                                 -         -         -         -         -                    -                   (6,058)       -                (6,058)

 Credit to equity for equity-settled share based payments  -         -         -         -         411                  -                   -             -                411

 Non-controlling interest on business combination          -         -         -         -         -                    -                   -             2,312            2,312
 Restated* balance at
 2April 2022
 (Unaudited)                                               6,556     2,636     (1,216)   (399)     5,053                20,359              (9,494)       2,316            25,811

 

 Condensed Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity (continued)

 For the 52 weeks ended 1 October 2022

             Equity attributable to equity holders of the parent
                         Share                           Share    Own      Merger   Share-based payment  Capital redemption  Accum-ulated  Non-controlling  Total
                         capital                         premium  shares   reserve  reserve              reserve             losses        interest         equity
                         £'000                           £'000    £'000    £'000    £'000                £'000               £'000         £'000            £'000
 Restated* balance at
 2October 2021 (Audited)                                                6,555   2,625    (1,216)  (399)    4,642                20,359              (7,610)       -                24,956
 Profit and total comprehensive expense
 for the period                                                          -       -        -        -        -                    -                   9,005         186              9,191

 Dividends                                                               -       -        -        -        -                    -                   (8,015)       -                (8,015)

 Issue of share capital                                                  1       11       -        -        -                    -                   -             -                12

 Own shares purchased in the period                                      -       -        (207)    -        -                    -                   -             -                (207)

 Own shares issued in the period                                         -       -        1,008    -        -                    -                   (699)         -                309

 Credit to equity for equity-settled share based payments                -       -        -        -        520                  -                   -             -                520

 Acquisition of non-controlling interest on business combination         -       -        -        -        -                    -                   -             2,283            2,283
 Balance at
 1October 2022
 (Audited)                                                               6,556   2,636    (415)    (399)    5,162                20,359              (7,319)       2,469            29,049

 * See note 1 for an explanation of the prior period restatement.

 

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity (continued)

For the 26 weeks ended 2 April 2022

                                                           Equity attributable to equity holders of the parent
                                                           Share     Share     Own       Merger    Share-based payment  Capital redemption  Accum-ulated  Non-controlling  Total
                                                           capital   premium   shares    reserve   reserve              reserve             losses        interest         equity
                                                           £'000     £'000     £'000     £'000     £'000                £'000               £'000         £'000            £'000
 Restated* balance at
 2 October 2021 (Audited)                                  6,555     2,625     (1,216)   (399)     4,642                20,359              (7,610)       -                24,956
 Profit and total comprehensive income (restated)*
 for the period                                            -         -         -         -         -                    -                   4,174         4                4,178

 Issue of share capital                                    1         11        -         -         -                    -                   -             -                12

 Dividends                                                 -         -         -         -         -                    -                   (6,058)       -                (6,058)

 Credit to equity for equity-settled share based payments  -         -         -         -         411                  -                   -             -                411

 Non-controlling interest on business combination          -         -         -         -         -                    -                   -             2,312            2,312
 Restated* balance at
 2 April 2022
 (Unaudited)                                               6,556     2,636     (1,216)   (399)     5,053                20,359              (9,494)       2,316            25,811

 

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity (continued)

For the 52 weeks ended 1 October 2022

                         Equity attributable to equity holders of the parent
                                                 Share                           Share    Own      Merger   Share-based payment  Capital redemption  Accum-ulated  Non-controlling  Total
                                                 capital                         premium  shares   reserve  reserve              reserve             losses        interest         equity
                                                 £'000                           £'000    £'000    £'000    £'000                £'000               £'000         £'000            £'000
 Restated* balance at
 2 October 2021 (Audited)                                                6,555   2,625    (1,216)  (399)    4,642                20,359              (7,610)       -                24,956
 Profit and total comprehensive expense
 for the period                                                          -       -        -        -        -                    -                   9,005         186              9,191

 Dividends                                                               -       -        -        -        -                    -                   (8,015)       -                (8,015)

 Issue of share capital                                                  1       11       -        -        -                    -                   -             -                12

 Own shares purchased in the period                                      -       -        (207)    -        -                    -                   -             -                (207)

 Own shares issued in the period                                         -       -        1,008    -        -                    -                   (699)         -                309

 Credit to equity for equity-settled share based payments                -       -        -        -        520                  -                   -             -                520

 Acquisition of non-controlling interest on business combination         -       -        -        -        -                    -                   -             2,283            2,283
 Balance at
 1 October 2022
 (Audited)                                                               6,556   2,636    (415)    (399)    5,162                20,359              (7,319)       2,469            29,049

 

 

* See note 1 for an explanation of the prior period restatement.

 

 Condensed Consolidated Cash Flow Statement
 for the 26 weeks ended 1 April 2023
                                                                                              52 weeks

                                                                    26 weeks     Restated*

                                                                                 26 weeks
                                                                    ended        ended        ended
                                                                    1 April      2 April      1 October
                                                                    2023         2022         2022

                                                                    £'000        £'000        £'000
                                                                    (Unaudited)  (Unaudited)  (Audited)
 Cash flow from operating activities
 Profit for the period                                              706          4,178        9,191
 Taxation                                                           978          1,422        1,754
 Finance costs                                                      2,301        1,945        4,010
 Finance income                                                     (98)         (37)         (123)
 Group operating profit                                             3,887        7,508        14,832
 Adjustments for:
 Depreciation of property, plant and equipment                      2,686        2,830        5,609
 Depreciation of right-of-use assets                                9,012        9,181        18,212
 Amortisation of intangible assets                                  386          101          500
 Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment and intangibles  69           -            394
 Loss/(gain) on sublease                                            101          36           (88)
 Impairment charge of property, plant and equipment                 54           427          240
 Impairment of right-of-use assets                                  5            1,771        1,473
 Gain on lease disposal                                             (240)        (2,265)      (1,544)
 Share option charge                                                675          411          520
 Increase in earn out liability provision                           1,589        -            1,581
 Increase in provisions and accruals                                1,595        693          -
 Non-cash loss/(gain) on derivative contracts                       676          -            (455)
 (Increase)/decrease in receivables                                 (139)        456          (1,080)
 Increase in inventories                                            (848)        (2,794)      (4,362)
 Increase/(decrease) in payables                                    5,145        (7,810)      (5,603)
 Cash generated by operations                                       24,653       10,545       30,229
 Interest paid                                                      (82)         (138)        (354)
 Interest received on operational cash balances                     50           -            58
 Interest element of lease liabilities paid                         (1,997)      (1,777)      (3,626)
 Taxation paid                                                      (1,991)      (2,085)      (3,453)
 Net cash generated from operating activities                       20,633       6,545        22,854
 Investing activities
 Interest received                                                  -            4            -
 Interest received on sublease assets                               29           34           65
 Receipt of capital element of sublease assets                      213          247          493
 Purchase of property, plant, equipment                             (1,931)      (938)        (3,090)
 Purchase of intangibles                                            (50)         (92)         (115)
 Proceeds on disposal of property, plant and equipment              -            131          183
 Acquisition of subsidiary, net of cash acquired                    -            (4,436)      (3,968)
 Net cash used in investment activities                             (1,739)      (5,050)      (6,432)
 Financing activities
 Payment of capital element of lease liabilities                    (9,977)      (9,822)      (19,601)
 Dividends paid                                                     (5,104)      (6,058)      (8,015)
 Financing arrangement fees                                         (150)        -            -
 Proceeds from issue of share capital                               -            11           12
 Purchase of own shares                                             -            -            (207)
 Receipt on disposal of own shares                                  7            -            309
 Repayment of bank loans                                            -            -            (468)
 Net cash used in financing activities                              (15,224)     (15,869)     (27,970)
 Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents               3,670        (14,374)     (11,548)
 Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period                   16,241       27,789       27,789
 Cash and cash equivalents at end of period                         19,911       13,415       16,241

* See note 1 for an explanation of the prior period restatement.

 

 

1. General information

The interim report was approved by the Board on 23 May 2023. The financial
information for the 52 week period ended 1 October 2022 has been based on
information in the audited financial statements for that period.

 

The comparative figures for the 52 week period ended 1 October 2022 are an
abridged version of the Group's full financial statements and, together with
other financial information contained in these interim results, do not
constitute statutory financial statements of the Group as defined in section
434 of the Companies Act 2006.  A copy of the statutory accounts for that 52
week period has been delivered to the Registrar of Companies.  The auditor
has reported on those accounts: their report was unqualified, did not draw
attention to any matters by way of emphasis and did not contain a statement
under s498 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.

 

This condensed set of consolidated financial statements has been prepared for
the 26 weeks ended 1 April 2023 (H1 2023) and the comparative period has been
prepared for the 26 weeks ended 2 April 2022 (H1 2022).

The interim financial statements have not been audited or reviewed by auditors
pursuant to the Auditing Practices Board guidance on "Review of interim
financial information" and do not include all of the information required for
full annual financial statements.

 

Basis of preparation and accounting policies

The annual financial statements of Topps Tiles Plc are prepared in accordance
with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union.  The unaudited condensed
consolidated set of financial statements included in this half-yearly
financial report has been prepared in accordance with International Accounting
Standard 34 'Interim Financial Reporting', as adopted by the European Union
and in conformity with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006. The same
accounting policies, presentation and methods of computation are followed in
the condensed set of financial statements as applied in the Group's latest
annual audited financial statements.

 

New and amended standards adopted by the Group

The Group continues to monitor the potential impact of other new standards and
interpretations which have been or may be endorsed and require adoption by the
Group in future reporting periods.

 

Going concern

When considering the going concern assertion, the Board reviews several
factors including a review of risks and uncertainties, the ability of the
Group to meet its banking covenants and operate within its banking facilities
based on current financial plans, along with a detailed review of more
pessimistic trading scenarios that are deemed severe but plausible. The two
downside scenarios modelled include a moderate decline in sales and a more
severe decline in sales, which result in much lower sales and gross profit
than the base scenario, resulting in worse profit and cash outcomes. The more
severe downside scenario modelled this year was based on a severe prolonged
period of macroeconomic stress in the UK, lasting for more than two years,
with sales falling substantially in each year in our main brand, Topps Tiles,
as well as year-on-year declines in gross margins.

 

The Group has already taken a number of actions to strengthen its liquidity
over the recent years, and the scenarios start from a position of relative
strength. The going concern review also outlined a range of other mitigating
actions that could be taken in a severe but plausible trading scenario. These
included, but were not limited to, savings on store employee costs, savings on
central support costs, reduced marketing activity, a reduction of capital
expenditure, management of working capital and suspension of the dividend.
The Group's cash headroom and covenant compliance was reviewed against current
lending facilities in both the base case and the severe but plausible downside
scenario. The current lending facility was refinanced in October 2022 and
expires at the earliest in October 2025.

 

In all scenarios, the Board has concluded that there is sufficient available
liquidity and covenant headroom for the Group to continue to meet all of its
financial commitments as they fall due for the foreseeable future, a period of
not less than 12 months from the date of this report. Accordingly, the Board
continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial
statements.

 

IFRIC: Configuration or Customisation Costs in a Cloud Computing Arrangement
(IAS38 Intangible Assets)

During the prior year, management re-evaluated the impact of the IFRIC
guidance released during 2021 relating to accounting for cloud-based SaaS
arrangements. Further details of the impact of this re-evaluation can be found
in the 2022 Annual Report and Accounts.

 

During the first half of 2022, £100k was capitalised in relation to
cloud-based SaaS with £98k amortisation being charged. The H1 2022
Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss and the Consolidated Cash Flow
Statement have been restated to recognise the post-tax impact of £100k SaaS
costs being recognised as an operating expense and the reversal of £98k
amortisation.

 

The H1 2022 Consolidated Statement of Financial Position has been restated to
de-recognise the post-tax impact of previously capitalised SaaS costs.

 

A summary of the impact, including taxation, is included in the following
table:

 

                                                H1 2022                                   H1 2022

                                               (previously reported)       Restatement   Restated

                                               £'000                       £'000         £'000
 Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss impact
 Administrative costs                          (10,288)                    (3)           (10,291)
 Profit before taxation                        5,603                       (3)           5,600
 Tax charge                                    (1,423)                     1             (1,422)
 Adjusted earnings per ordinary share (pence)  2.79                        0.04          2.83
 Consolidated Statement of Financial Position impact
 Intangible assets                             6,603                       (778)         5,825
 Deferred tax asset                            243                         158           401
 Total assets                                  181,120                     (620)         180,500
 Net assets                                    26,431                      (620)         25,811
 Accumulated losses                            (8,874)                     (620)         (9,494)
 Total equity                                  26,431                      (620)         25,811
 Consolidated Cash Flow Statement impact
 Profit for the period                         4,180                       (2)           4,178
 Taxation                                      (1,423)                     1             (1,422)
 Amortisation of intangible assets             199                         (98)          101
 Cash generated by operations                  10,645                      (100)         10,545
 Net cash from operating activities            6,645                       (100)         6,545
 Purchase of intangibles                       (192)                       100           (92)
 Net cash used in investing activities         (5,150)                     100           (5,050)

 

In addition to the above, the prior period Consolidated Cash Flow Statement
has been restated by £693k to reflect a recategorisation of movements from
Payables to Provisions and Accruals.

 

2. Business segments

The Group has one reportable segment in accordance with IFRS 8 - Operating
Segments, which encompasses the Topps Tiles Group revenue generated instore
and online from retail and commercial customers. The Board receives monthly
financial information at this level and uses this information to monitor
performance, allocate resources and make operational decisions.

 

Revenue can be split by the following geographical regions:

 

                26 weeks  26 weeks

                ended     ended

                1 April   2 April

                2023      2022

                £'000     £'000
 UK             130,003   119,222
 EU             255       -
 Rest of World  52        -
 Total          130,310   119,222

 

 

3. Taxation

 26 weeks     Restated     52 weeks

                                     26 weeks
                              ended        ended        ended
                              1April      2 April      1 October
                              2023         2022         2022
                              £'000        £'000        £'000
                              (Unaudited)  (Unaudited)  (Audited)
 Current tax - debit for the period                        1,010        1,520        2,577
 Deferred tax - (credit) / debit for the period            (32)         (98)         360
 Deferred tax - adjustment in respect of previous periods  -            -            (1,183)
                              978          1,422        1,754

 

 

4. Interim dividend

An interim dividend of 1.20p (2022: 1.00p) per ordinary share has been
declared. A final dividend of 2.60p per ordinary share was approved and paid
in the period, in relation to the 52-week period ended 1 October 2022.

 

5. Earnings per share

The calculation of earnings per share is based on the earnings for the
financial period attributable to equity shareholders and the weighted average
number of ordinary shares.

                                                                          26 weeks                  52 weeks

                                                                                       26 weeks
                                                                          ended        ended        ended
                                                                          1 April      2 April      1 October
                                                                          2023         2022         2022
                                                                          (Unaudited)  (Unaudited)  (Audited)
 Weighted average number of issued shares for basic earnings per share    196,681,818  196,680,195  196,681,007
 Weighted average impact of treasury shares for basic earnings per share  (525,062)    (1,259,275)  (1,099,370)
 Total weighted average number of shares for basic earnings per share     196,156,756  195,420,920  195,581,637
 Weighted average number of shares under option                           1,025,157    3,171,408    2,165,790
 For diluted earnings per share                                           197,181,913  198,592,328  197,747,427

                                                                          £'000        Restated     £'000

                                                                                       £'000
 Profit for the period                                                    482          4,174        9,005
 Adjusting items                                                          2,605        1,348        3,005
 Adjusted profit for the period                                           3,087        5,522        12,010

 Earnings per ordinary share - basic                                      0.25p        2.14p        4.60p
 Earnings per ordinary share - diluted                                    0.24p        2.10p        4.55p
 Earnings per ordinary share - adjusted                                   1.57p        2.83p        6.14p

 

The calculation of the basic and diluted earnings per share used the
denominators as shown above for both basic and diluted earnings per share.

 

Adjusted earnings per share for the 26 weeks ended 1 April 2023 were
calculated after adjusting for the post-tax impact of the following items:
vacant property and closure costs of £0.6m (2022: £0.8m), impairment of
property, plant and equipment of nil (2022: £0.1m), impairment of
right-of-use assets and lease exit gains and losses of £0.1m gain (2022:
£0.2m gain), Pro Tiler Limited earn out provision increase of £1.7m (2022:
£0.2m), Tile Warehouse set up costs and Pro Tiler Limited acquisition
expenses of nil (2022: £0.4m), and restructuring and other one-off costs of
£0.4m (2022: nil).

 

6. Bank loans

 

     26 weeks  26 weeks  52 weeks
   ended     ended     ended
   1April   2 April   1 October
   2023      2022      2022
   £'000     £'000     £'000
 (Unaudited)  (Unaudited)  (Audited)
 Bank loans (all sterling)                     -            (4)          -
 The borrowings are repayable as follows:
 On demand or within one year                  -            (4)          -
 In the second year                            -            -            -
 In the third to fifth year                    -            -            -
                        -      -            -
 Less: total unamortised issue costs           (250)        (76)         -
                        (250)        (76)         -
 Issue costs to be amortised within 12 months  100          64           -

                                               (Unaudited)  (Unaudited)  (Audited)
 Bank loans (all sterling)                     -            (4)          -
 The borrowings are repayable as follows:
 On demand or within one year                  -            (4)          -
 In the second year                            -            -            -
 In the third to fifth year                    -            -            -
                                               -            -            -
 Less: total unamortised issue costs           (250)        (76)         -
                                               (250)        (76)         -
 Issue costs to be amortised within 12 months  100          64           -

 

The Group has a revolving credit facility to October 2025 of £30.0 million.
As at 1 April 2023, £nil of this facility was drawn (2022: £nil). The loan
facility contains financial covenants, which are tested on a bi-annual basis.
The Group did not breach any covenants in the period.

 

7. Financial instruments

The Group has the following financials instruments which are categorised as
fair value through profit and loss:

     Carrying value and fair value

         26 weeks    26 weeks    52 weeks
      ended       ended       ended
      1April     2 April     1 October
      2023        2022        2022
      £'000       £'000       £'000
     (Unaudited)  (Unaudited)  (Audited)
     Financial assets
     Fair value through profit and loss  (158)        54           518

     Financial liabilities
     Fair value through profit and loss  -            -            -

                  (Unaudited)  (Unaudited)  (Audited)
     Financial assets
     Fair value through profit and loss  (158)        54           518

     Financial liabilities
     Fair value through profit and loss  -            -            -

 

                                     (Unaudited)  (Unaudited)  (Audited)
 Financial assets
 Fair value through profit and loss  (158)        54           518

 Financial liabilities
 Fair value through profit and loss  -            -            -

 

 

The fair values of financial assets and financial liabilities are determined
as follows:

Foreign currency forward contracts are measured using quoted forward exchange
rates and yield curves derived from quoted interest rates matching maturities
of the contracts.

 

The fair values are therefore categorised as Level 2 (2022: Level 2), based on
the degree to which the fair value is observable. Level 2 fair value
measurements are those derived from inputs other than unadjusted quoted prices
in active markets (Level 1 categorisation) that are observable for the asset
or liability, either directly (i.e. as prices) or indirectly (i.e. derived
from prices).

 

At 1 April 2023 the fair value of the Group's currency derivatives is a loss
of £158,000 within trade and other receivables (2022: £54,000 gain). These
amounts are based on the market value of equivalent instruments at the
Statement of Financial Position date.

 

Losses of £676,000 are included in cost of sales in the 26 weeks ended 1
April 2023 (2022: £9,000 loss).

 

8. Share capital

The issued share capital of the Group as at 1 April 2023 amounted to
£6,556,000 (2 April 2022: £6,556,000). During the period the Group issued
nil shares (2 April 2022: 19,687 shares), and therefore the number of shares
at 1 April 2023 were 196,681,818 (2 April 2022: 196,681,818).

 

9. Seasonality of sales

Historically there has not been any material seasonal difference in sales
between the first and second half of the reporting period, with approximately
50% of annual sales arising in the period from October to March.

 

10. Related party transactions

MS Galleon AG is a related party by virtue of their 29.8% shareholding
(58,569,649 ordinary shares) in the Group's total voting rights (2 April 2022:
20.1% shareholding).

 

MS Galleon AG is the owner of Cersanit, a supplier of ceramic tiles with whom
the Group made purchases of £659,000 during the first half of the year which
is 1.1% of cost of goods sold (2022: purchases of £424,000 during the first
half of the year which is 0.8% of cost of goods sold).

 

An amount of £303,000 was outstanding with Cersanit at 1 April 2023 (2 April
2022: £205,000). All transactions were conducted on commercial arm's length
terms.

 

Transactions between the Company and its subsidiaries, which are related
parties, have been eliminated on consolidation and are not disclosed in this
note, in accordance with the exemption available under IAS 24.

 

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