Argos reports sales drop

Argos has reported sales of £537m for the first two months of 2010, representing a 6.6 per cent drop year-on-year.

The decrease, is thought to be due to the ‘big freeze’ in the early part of the year and a late spring/summer catalogue launch.

However, the early decline has not affected Argos owners the Home Retail Group’s expectations for the year ahead.

CEO Terry Duddy said full-year pre-tax profits are likely to be around £290 million – slightly ahead of market expectations. "This is a good outcome to a challenging year and is combined with excellent cash generation," he said.

Argos’ sales for the year to 27 February 2010 rose 1.5 per cent to £4.35 billion.