High Street slump hits profits
Kidderminster carpet firm Victoria has seen its UK business hit by a slump in high street spending as a result of recent interest rate hikes and the banking crisis.
But better performance by its Australian businesses have boosted profits overall by almost 25 per cent.
A pre-tax profit of £1.25 million on sales up 6.4 per cent to £28.7 million sealed a solid half-year performance for Victoria today.
Unveiling the company's six-monthly figures today, chief executive Alan Bullock put the firm's "solid start" to the year down to its geographical spread, with businesses in Australia and Canada off-setting tough conditions in the UK and Ireland.
Victoria, which employs around 340 people at its Worcester Road factory in Kidderminster, said UK sales had been reasonably ahead of last year until August and September, when it was hit by falling consumer confidence on the high street.
As a result, operating profit in the UK was down by 23 per cent to £262,000. In Australia, however, operating profits rose 53 per cent to £1.41 million.
Mr Bullock said the first half of the year was traditionally quieter, and Victoria was confident of growth over the year as a whole.
