Dunelm has recorded a strong uplift in profits at the half-year mark as the retailer says its preliminary results will be “slightly ahead” of analyst expectations.
The homewares specialist reported a 19.4% rise in pre-tax profits to £83.6m in the 26 weeks to December 28, as total revenue rose 6% to £585m.
The retailer’s like-for-like sales rose 5.6% year on year against strong comparables, driven by gross margin rising 120 basis points to 51.5% during the period.
Dunelm posted a 33.2% rise in online sales boosted by the retailer re-platforming its ecommerce site during the period which the business says will enable “a new phase of growth”. The retailer’s multichannel sales, which comprise sales made across online home delivery, reserve and collect, click and collect and tablet-based sales made in-store now represent 19.2% of overall revenue, up from 15.7% the previous year.
The retailer’s number of unique active customers also increased 8.8% year on year, bolstered by the business’ year-long sponsorship of This Morning.
As a result of this, the business has said it now expects its full-year profits to be marginally ahead of current analyst expectations.
Chief executive Nick Wilkinson said: “We have made good progress over the first half, following a strong performance last year, which is reflected in the significant growth delivered in both sales and profits.
“We continue to build strong foundations for future growth. The successful launch of our digital platform accelerates our ability to innovate our customer proposition and we remain focused on operational improvements across all areas of the business.
“The third quarter has started well, with a successful Winter Sale across the total retail system. As a result, we expect full-year FY20 profit before tax to be slightly ahead of the top of the latest range of analyst expectations. We are monitoring the Coronavirus outbreak carefully. To date, we have not assumed any material disruption to our supply chain or any financial impact in the year.”
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