Topps Tiles has seen its revenue fall below its forecast in Q3, after the recent heatwave caused temporary work stoppages among housebuilders and traders.

The tile retailer said that its group revenue dropped by 1.8% year-on-year in the 39-week period to 27 June to £75.6m, following challenging market conditions and the effect of the closure of underperforming stores.

Furthermore, its Q3 like-for-like revenue was flat year-on-year, worsening in the second half of the quarter.

Topps Tiles said that it has seen some margin pressure as a result of ongoing uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment, which has led to a current greater demand for lower-priced products, with the heatwave also affecting activity levels.

It added that while there is likely to be a catch-up over a six-month period, "this is unlikely to come back fully" in its financial year, which ends in September.

Despite this, the firm said it is on track to deliver the previously announced self-help initiatives to drive profitability, including network optimisation, lower costs, a flexible labour model and head office role consolidation.

In its outlook, Topps Tiles said that the macroeconomic environment has continued to be challenging, with lower consumer spend and commercial areas such as housebuilding coming under further pressure.

As a result, it now expects its full-year adjusted profit before tax to be above £6.5m.

Following the announcement, shares in the group fell by almost 5%.

Chief executive at Topps Tiles, Alex Jenson, stated: "Topps continues to outperform the wider market despite weaker consumer sentiment and an increased focus on lower priced products. We're making significant strategic progress across our priorities and the self-help actions we are taking to support profitability are working and will position the business for long-term sustainable growth. In the short term, the macro-economic environment continues to remain challenging."

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