Another slight improvement in like-for like sales is very welcome, especially considering the downward trend in the first half of this year.
Easter this year isn't in March, it's in April, so we always knew that March would be a minus figure. If you allow for the fact that is Easter is normally worth about 1 to 1 1/2 percentage points, then the underlying trend is flat and we expect that to continue.
The probability is that, after adjusting for the timing of Easter, the underlying trend in like-for-like sales is, at best, flat.