Turnover at kitchens and floors specialist Smallbone soared 33.7 per cent to £47.7 million (compared with £35.7 mil...
Turnover at kitchens and floors specialist Smallbone soared 33.7 per cent to£47.7 million (compared with£35.7 million in 2005) for the year to December 31, as a result of store openings.

Gross profit was£20.9 million, compared with£15.2 million in 2005. Profit before tax reached£119,000, compared with a loss of£214,000 in 2005, after net interest charges of£501,000, goodwill amortisation of£670,000, exceptional costs of£230,000 relating to the re-location of the Paris Ceramics USA operations to Virginia and expensing£99,000 for the provision of share-based payments.

The business, comprising Smallbone of Devizes and Mark Wilkinson Furniture, has 32 showrooms in the UK and US, where it also runs stone supplier Paris Ceramics.

The successful relaunch of Smallbone Bedrooms and Bathrooms helped increase orders by 126 per cent to£3.5 million.

The retailer said that on the back of its success with the flagship Smallbone showroom in New York, it anticipates opening a further four showrooms in the US by 2009. The group has also signed a deal with IDA Associates, part of the Gazprom group, for Smallbone's first showroom in Russia, which is due open in Moscow this summer.

In addition, Mark Wilkinson Furniture has signed an agreement for its first showroom in Dubai - also due to open this summer. The retailer said: 'We will be seeking further partnerships outside our core markets of the UK and US to progress the development of both Smallbone and Mark Wilkinson internationally during 2007.'

Smallbone executive chairman and chief executive Charlie Smallbone said: '2006 was a year of investment for the Group and we are delighted with the achievements made. 2007 will, we believe, start to really see some of the benefits of this investment both to our sales and profits. The payment of a maiden dividend also clearly demonstrates our confidence and excitement about the future.'

The company added: 'With a Group order book of£28 million providing strong visibility and 40 per cent up on the previous year, we start 2007 with confidence, despite allowing for longer lead times for US furniture deliveries than we had anticipated from our experience of the UK economy.'