Negative figures

Homebase, a British DIY chain, achieved total sales of £ 1.513 bn in the 2008/09 financial year (to 28 February 2009). This means that the company, which is part of the Home Retail Group, recorded a sales decline of 3.5 per cent (10.2 per cent like-for-like) by comparison with the previous year. Operating profit experienced a drop of 67 per cent to £ 14.9 mio. At the end of the financial year the chain had 345 DIY stores with a combined retail area of 1.481 mio m² in operation. A total of 14 stores were launched over the last financial year, nine of them outlets taken over from Focus.