Home Retail, Britain's biggest household goods retailer, met forecasts with flat first-half profit as cost cuts offset weak sales, and said it remained cautious about prospects for consumer demand.
The firm, which runs catalogue-based Argos stores and do-it-yourself chain Homebase, said today profit before tax, goodwill and one-off items rose 1 per cent to £123 million in the 26 weeks to August 29th.
"We continue to plan cautiously for consumer demand over the remainder of the financial year, and there will also be a more significant impact from adverse currency movements during this period," it said in a statement.
The interim dividend was kept at 4.7 pence a share.
Home Retail said it cut operating and distribution costs by £32 million, or 3 per cent, in the first half, which limited previously reported falls in margins and weak sales.
The group has been hit hard by the recession, as shoppers have cut back spending on non-essential items and a decline in the pound has made its imported goods from Asia more expensive.
But its shares have outperformed the DJ Stoxx European Retail Index amid signs of a consumer recovery.
Home Retail shares closed at 308 pence yesterday, valuing the business at about £2.7 billion.
Reuters