Wickes upgrades profit forecast as retail sales jump in second half

The home and DIY giant reported a 3% jump in retail revenues for the 26 weeks to December 28, 2024 to £579.1m, with like-for-like growth of 2.6%.

Total group sales jumped 1.8% in the second half to £738.9m, while like for likes inched up 0.1%.

Wickes said it also continued to grow market share in the second half, with particularly strong performance in ”interior paint, decorative accessories and garden projects”. Sales were driven by volume growth, with deflation of 2% during the period.

TradePro – Wickes’ membership service – sales grew 14% year on year during the second half, while active members jumped 19% to over 581,000.

Despite this, DIY sales remained in “moderate decline” as customers continued to prioritise smaller projects at home, to save on money.

Sales in Wickes’ design and installation business also improved in the second half, although revenues were still down 2.5% at £159.7m.

Wickes said it now expected adjusted profit before tax for the full year to be at the upper end of its £39.7m to £44m consensus forecast range.

Chief executive David Wood said: “Wickes’ differentiated model continues to deliver. We’ve grown sales and volumes in Retail, and TradePro had yet another period of double-digit sales growth, as local tradespeople continue to choose us to save them time and money.

“Meanwhile, measures we took to improve our offer in Design & Installation have enabled us to return to ordered sales growth.

“We expect to deliver FY24 profit towards the upper end of the forecast range and looking to the year ahead we are well positioned to outperform the market as we continue to invest in our strategic growth levers.”