Today's annual figures from listed Leicestershire firm Topps Tiles PLC suggest a business battling in a harsh market as it publishes pre-tax losses of £16.2m.

Pre-tax profits for the year fell from £12.5m on 2023 to £6.3m, (a year-on-year drop of £6.2m), while group adjusted revenue was down 5.4% in a market which has seen a year-on-year drop of 10% to 15%.

The retailer, which began trading in 1963 and is the biggest in its sector, has stores in Cheltenham, Gloucester, Stroud, Cirencester and Moreton-in-Marsh. It was last in the headlines in August when it spent £9m on salvaging the collapsed tile brands of CTD Tiles.

Opening its books for the year ending September 28, the headlines show that the group is continuing to take market share in a difficult trading environment, but was able to experience "a return to modest sales growth", citing such factors as trebling of Tile Warehouse sales year on year.

Group revenue went up 14.9% on 2019, while the market is around 20% down on pre-Covid levels.

Citing "strong initial progress" on five key growth areas over last six months, the firm said it also launched the 'Mission 365' strategic goal to grow targeted sales to £365m, with an adjusted PBT margin of 8-10%.

Figures also show that trade digital experience improved amid a relaunch of the trade website, a simpler registration process and pricing visibility, while in B2B growth, after acquiring CTD brand and other assets, the group further strengthening its trade presence.

Additionally the report said category expansion continuing at pace with trial and roll out of a new hard surface coverings offer, while Pro Tiler, which now has a new distributuon centre and is fully owned, "delivered excellent growth with revenue up over 30% and strong profit margins".

Chief executive Rob Parker said: "2024 has been a challenging year for RMI and especially bigger ticket spend. In the tile market, volumes remain well below pre-pandemic levels. Whilst Topps Group is not immune to these pressures, our growth strategy has served us well and we have continued to outperform the wider tile market."

He added that by the start of the new financial year, the group has seen "a return to modest sales growth," helped by weaker prior year comparatives and the continued strength of its trade offer.

"Whilst pleasing, the forward macro indicators for our market remain mixed, in particular weaker consumer confidence, and we need to see a sustained improvement in these metrics before we can be confident of a consumer recovery."