Topps Tiles said it was confident of generating a “modest level of adjusted profit before tax” for the end of its financial year, following a strong fourth quarter of trading.

In a trading update for the 52-week period to September 26 published today, the home and DIY retailer said that trading over the fourth quarter “remained robustly positive”, which reflects the “robust home improvement market”.

The retailer said like-for-like sales were up 16.5% in the 13 weeks to September 26, which gave the board “confidence that the group will generate a modest level of adjusted profit before tax” for the financial year. 

In terms of average weekly sales, Topps Tiles said it had been tracking at double-digit year-on-year growth since July.

Despite the strong second half of the year, Topps Tiles said sales for the period are expected to be in the region of £192m, down 12.5% from 2019. 

The business said that all of its stores were now open and running with “social distancing and hygiene protocols in place”. 

The retailer also said that, as of August, it had “ceased to utilise the UK government’s job retention scheme in August”.

The home and DIY specialist said that ecommerce was becoming an increasingly important channel, with sales up year on year and “customers doing more of their research online before visiting a store”.

For the period, the retailer had £25m of net cash and available cash headroom of £74m within its financing facilities.