Dobbies' sales pass the £50 million mark

Dobbies Garden Centres has reported sales of£54.1 million for the year to October 31 last year. This is the first time its annual sales have topped the£50 million mark, according to the retailer.

Like-for-like sales for the year were up 4.6 per cent. Pre-tax profit grew 25.8 per cent to£5.2 million, attributed to the£479,000 made from the sale of Dobbies' Shrewsbury store. Excluding this, pre-tax profits increased by 14.2 per cent.

Dobbies chief executive James Barnes (pictured), who has been in the post for 10 years, said: 'This year has been characterised by poorer weather and, latterly, a fall-off in consumer spend. May saw the return of fair weather and a major increase in sales. Operating profit margins were 0.2 per cent down on a year earlier, reflecting higher wastage on plant stock as a result of the season and higher discounts.

'We start the current year with a much cleaner stock situation. Going forward, we believe gross margins should widen, although an advance in operating margins will be held back by investment in central costs.'

This year, the retailer plans to redevelop its Ponteland store in Northumberland, as well as a 20 acre (8.1 ha) development at Stirling in Scotland.