The Swedish furniture and home accessory retailer has reported a 58% drop in pre-tax profit for the 12 months to August 31 2009.
The profit drop, from £40.7m to £17.1m, represents the fifth year in a row that the group has reported falling profits in the UK from a high of £104.6m in 2005. Sales lipped from £1.25bn to £1.23bn in the full financial year, the third annual sales decline in a row.

The performance comes despite attempts to increase profitability including reducing the total salaries bill for the year by almost £6m.

The lacklustre performance is being attributed to the fact that fewer people are moving house in the current economy. Coupled with increased competition from the DIY multiples and grocers who are increasingly expanding their offers to include competitively-priced homewares and accessories.