Business News: Poundland stores suffers after 99p stores buy

Poundland, being stalked by potential bidder Steinhoff, saw profits fall amid weak trading and the “strain” of integrating former rival 99p Stores.Poundland said in its statement that the 99p-chain purchase “naturally placed a strain on the core business”.
Annual pre-tax profits at the 900-strong chain tumbled 83.7% to £5.9m, although sales rose 18.7% to £1.3bn.
Stripping out the 99p Stores acquisition, profits fell 13.5% to £37.8m on sales up 9.3% to £1.2bn.