DFS has increased its profit forecast after increasing orders at Sofology and DFS in the past six months.
It says it expects to make underlying pre-tax profits of £30m-£31m in the 26 weeks to 28 December, an increase of about £14m.
It also expects to beat profit forecasts for the full-year (£41m) with profits of £43m-£50m.
Sales for the period will be c8.7% higher, thanks to its elevated opening order bank and the continued growth.
Orders were up 2.3%, ‘with both DFS and Sofology brands achieving growth, against strong comparatives and in a broadly flat market. The winter sale trading period has started in line with our expectations.’
‘Our three key enablers of scale and vertical integration, utilising data and harnessing our unique culture are strengthening our market leading proposition and driving order intake across both DFS and Sofology in a broadly flat market. We have continued to make good progress growing our gross margins and managing our cost base effectively. As a result, I am pleased to report an upgrade to our full year profit expectations following a strong first half performance. I am confident that the business is well positioned to continue delivering against our strategy and we remain committed to achieving our medium-term targets of £1.4bn revenue and 8% PBT margin and delivering attractive returns for our shareholders as the market recovers,’ Tim Stacey, DFS Furniture group chief executive.
